Pro-Ject Audio Systems DAC Box DS2 ultra User manual

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE
Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Dear music lover,
thank you for purchasing a Pro-Ject Audio DAC Box DS2 Ultra.
In order to achieve maximum performance and reliability you should study these instructions for use carefully.
Warning of a hazard for the user, the unit or possible misuse
Important notice
Safety instructions
AC outlet voltages vary from country to country. Before connecting to the mains, make sure that the
voltage in your area meets the voltage requirements printed on the power supply. The power cord is
used to disconnect the unit from the mains. Make sure that the power cord is easily accessible at all
times. Never handle the device, the power cord/power supply while your hands are wet or damp.
Avoid letting liquids enter the device or the power supply. Never place any item containing liquid,
such as a flower vase on or near the device. Never spill any liquid on the device or the power supply.
Never place any naked flame sources, such as lighted candles on or near the device. The product shall not
be used in damp or wet locations, next to a bathtub, sink, swimming pool or any other similar conditions.
Connectors
Make all connections,
except the connection to the computer, whilst the unit is disconnected from the
power supply. Connect the unit
to the mains and switch it on before connecting it to the computer
.
Take care to connect the left and right channels correctly. The right channel is usually marked red,
the left channel black or white.
Never use any other power supply than the one supplied with the unit.
Connection to the amplifier
Connect the
Output
RCA socket to a line input (such as
AUX
) on your amplifier. Pressing the
Gain
button on
the back panel raises gain by 6dB.
Digital inputs
Sources with a digital output such as a CD player can be connected to the digital inputs (coaxial and optical). A
computer can be connected to the USB input.
The DAC supports PCM (LPCM) and DSD format only. The DAC does not work with audio formats
like DTS™or Dolby®Digital. If the DAC is used with a TV satellite/cable receiver or a TV set
with an
integrated satellite/cable receiver. Make sure that in the set-up menu of your receiver/TV, the format
of the digital signal, relayed to the digital output used, is set to PCM.
!
!
!
!

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Connecting to a computer
Connect the USB-input of the DAC (unit must be switched on) to a free USB-socket on your computer and
turn it on/make sure it is powered on.
* For Windows®operating systems an USB driver (supplied on CD) has to be installed. Mac OS®operating
systems do not need an additional driver.
Please note: Connection should be made to an USB-socket of your computer dire
ctly. Connecting to
USB-hubs can cause problems.
Mains power connection
Connect the low voltage plug from the power supply to the
Power 18V DC
socket before connecting the
power supply to the mains.
Remote power on - triggers
The unit can be switched on & off via a special connection from other Pro-Ject products equipped with
trigger connections via the 2,5mm socket marked
Trigger Input
.
A 45cm long power-on cable (polarity ) is supplied for this purpose. Longer cables are available as
accessories. The remote power-on signal can be relayed to further units via the
Trigger OUT
socket.
Front panel controls
Switching on and into standby
The push button on the left hand side on the front panel turns the unit on and into standby. The blue LED above
the button shows that the unit is switched on.
Input selector
Operating ◄/►repeatedly selects the inputs in turns. The selected input, the sampling frequency or the
DSD mode of the digital input signal will be indicated by the corresponding LED.
+

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Sound mode
Mode 1:
Upsampling: this mode upsamples all incoming signals to highest possible output rate:
Sound Mode 1
input
input PCM
sampling freq. [kHz]
output PCM
sampling freq. [kHz]
available
filters
USB
44
705
1,2
48
768
1,2
88
705
1,2
96
768
1,2
176
705
1,2,3,4
192
768
1,2,3,4
352
705
1,2,3,4
384
768
1,2,3,4
705
705
1,2,3,4
768
768
1,2,3,4
S/PDIF
44
768
1,2
48
705
1,2
88
768
1,2
96
705
1,2
176
768
1,2,3,4
192
705
1,2,3,4
input DSD
data rate
output DSD
data rate
USB
DSD
64
256
1,2,3,4
128
256
1,2,3,4
256
256
1,2,3,4
Mode 2:
Conversion to DSD: all incoming signals are converted to DSD format
Sound Mode 2
Input
input PCM
sampling freq. [kHz]
output DSD
data rate
available
filters
USB
44-48
128
1,2
88-96
256
1,2
176-768
256
1,2,3,4
S/PDIF
44, 48, 88
128
1,2
176
128
1,2,3,4
96
256
1,2
192
256
1,2,3,4
USB DSD
Same as with Sound Mode 1

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Mode 3:
USB Upsampling bypass:
USB Input sampling rate remains the same as USB output sampling rate.
Sound Mode 3
USB input
Sampling frequency [kHz]
available filters
44-96
1,2,3,4
176-768
1,2,3,4,5
DSD input format remains the same as DSD output format.
S/PDIF input rates are upsampled to PCM352kHz / PCM384kHz
Sound Mode 3
input
input PCM
sampling freq. [kHz]
output PCM
sampling freq. [kHz]
available
filters
S/PDIF
44
384
1,2
48
352
1,2
88
384
1,2
96
352
1,2
176
384
1,2,3,4
192
352
1,2,3,4
Filters
Filter button toggles between 5 filters. Availability of filters depends on input format and frequency shown in
previous article:
Filter
Sound type
Filter name
Remarks
Sound source
positioning
Edge
1
Natural tone
Super slow roll-off
No echo, natural
sound
Close
Ultra
sharp
2
Acoustic tone
Short delay roll-off
Minimal echo,
original sound
Sharp
3
Traditional tone
Slow roll-off
Minimal echo,
original sound
Middle
4
Acoustic sound
Short delay sharp roll-off
Post echo, bass
sound
Sharp
5
Traditional sound
Sharp roll-off
Pre and post
echo, powerful
sound
Far
Slow

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Driver installation (Windows® operating systems only)
* For Windows®operating systems a USB driver (supplied on CD) has to be installed.
Insert the included CD into the drive of you PC and follow the instructions.
Complete the installation by restarting the computer.
After installing the driver, some settings have to be checked
/
done.
For example - Windows 7®operating system:
Control Panel Hardware and Sound Sound Playback:
select
Speaker
/
Project DAC Box DS USB 2.0 Audio Out
Properties Supported formats:
make sure nothing is assigned
Level Sound: setting must be
100
Enhancements:
disable all enhancements
Advanced Default Format: set to
studio quality 24/192
Using Windows 8®, the driver has to be installed in Windows 7®compatibility mode.
DSD playback
Up to now DSD playback on a computer using a Windows®operating system is only reliably possible with
the PC software player Foobar2000.
Nevertheless, this player has to be prepared, out of the box it is not capable to play DSD. Please read the
following instructions how to prepare the player.
You will need to download the following software and drivers from the internet:
The software player Foobar2000 http://www.foobar2000.org/download
The Foobar2000 for ASIO playback http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_asio
The Foobar2000 for SACD playback http://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/foo_input_sacd/.
Unzip the enclosed files and store into a folder of your choice.
The actual Windows®USB driver comes with the unit on CD. Store all files from the CD on your computer
into a folder of your choice.
Please install the USB driver first. To do that, in the folder, where you stored the files to, start the installation
by double clicking on
Setup.exe
. Follow the instructions of the installation program.
Please install Foobar2000 now by double clicking on the downloaded file. Please start Foobar2000 after that.

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Now you have to integrate the downloaded components into Foobar2000. Please do the following: In the
upper menu bar, click on
File
and then on
Preferences
.
In the window that now opens, please click on
Components
.
Now click on
Install...
(lower right) und search for
foo_out_asio.fb2k-component
in the opened explorer window.
Click on it and after that on
Apply
to activate the Component. Foobar2000 asks now, if you agree to start,
restart the program to activate the changes. Confirm with
Yes
. Foobar2000 restarts.

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Now exit Foobar2000 and double click on the program
ASIOProxyInstall-0.6.5.exe
in the folder, where you
unzipped the Component
foo_input_sacd
to. Follow the instructions of the installation program.
Now please start Foobar2000 again and open the
Preferences
Box by clicking on
File/Preferences
.
Click on
Install
and go the folder where you unzipped
foo_input_sacd
to.
Click on
foo_input_sacd.fb2k-component
and confirm with
Apply
.
Foobar2000 asks once again, if you agree to start restart the program to activate the changes.
Confirm with
Yes
. Foobar2000 restarts.
Now you have installed all necessary components. Before you can start to playback DSD files however, you
have to carry out some settings. For that please open the
Preferences
Box by clicking on
File/Preferences
again.
Click on the small triangle to the left of
Playback
now and after that on
Output
.

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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In the dropdown menu below
Device
, choose the driver
Asio: foo_dsd_asio
.

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Click
Playback
and the small triangle on the left side of
Output
and then on
ASIO
. Below
ASIO Drivers
please double click on
foo_dsd_asio
.
In the window that follows, please choose
Project Box Asio Driver
and in the dropdown menu
ASIO Driver
.
In the same window, please choose
DoP Marker 0x05/0xFA
in the dropdown menu
DSD Playback Method
.
Close the window with a click on the small
X
in the upper right corner.

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Select
Tools
, click the small triangle to the left and then
SACD
. Choose
DSD
in the dropdown menu
ASIO
Driver mode
.
Now you have completed all necessary settings. Close the
Preferences
window with a click on
OK
. Now you
can playback DSD files with the extensions
DSF
and
DFF
. You can open the files in Foobar2000 either with
your mouse via drag and drop or with the
File
menu in the upper menu bar.
Please be aware that downloads from the Internet are made entirely at your own risk. Under no
circumstances can we carry responsibility or provide support for software products sourced from the
internet or for any damage or problems arising from the use thereof. All downloads should be
checked with an up-to-date anti-virus programme.

© Pro-Ject Audio Systems · Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra · Revision 2016.11.9 b
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Technical specifications Pro-Ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra
Frequency response: 20Hz - 50kHz (0dB/-1dB)
SNR: 113dB (20Hz-20kHz)
THD: 0,00085% (20Hz-20kHz)
THD+N: 0,0009% (20Hz-20kHz)
Crosstalk: -117dB (10kHz@0dB)
Digital inputs: 2 x coaxial
3 x optical (TOSlink®)
1 x USB (B socket)
USB input: digital serial data protocol USB 2.0
Operating systems
24Bit/kHz192 playback: Windows VISTA®, Windows 7®, Windows 8®, Windows 10®, Mac OS®
DSD playback: Windows VISTA®, Windows 7®, Windows 8®, Windows 10®, Mac OS®
D/A converter: AK4490 32-bit PCM 768kHz / DSD256
Sampling rates:
Coaxial inputs up to 192kHz/24bit
Optical inputs up to 192kHz/24bit
USB input up to 768kHzHz/32bit + DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256
USB mode: asynchronous data transfer with DoP
Line-level outputs: 1 pair RCA/phono sockets
Digital output: 1x optical (TOSlink®)
Output voltage typically: RCA/phono sockets 2,2Vrms / +6dB active: 4,4Vrms
Outboard power supply: 18V/1A DC; suitable for your country's mains supply
Power consumption: 300mA DC,<1W in standby
Dimensions W x H x D (D with sockets): 206 x 71 x 200 (220) aluminium
240 x 72 x 199 (220) wood
Weight (without power supply): 1.890g aluminium
2.070g wood
Service
Should you encounter a problem which you are not able to alleviate or identify despite the above information,
please contact your dealer for further advice. Only when the problem cannot be resolved there should the
unit be sent to the responsible distributor in your country.
Warranty
The manufacturer accepts no responsibility for damage caused by not adhering to these instructions
for use. Modification or change to any part of the product by unauthorized persons,
release the
manufacturer from any liability over and above the lawful rights of the customer.
Copyright, trademarks
Pro-Ject Audio Systems is a Registered Trademark of
H. Lichtenegger.
Copyright ©2016. All rights reserved.
The information was correct at the time of going to
press. The manufacturer reserves the right to make
changes to the technical specification without prior
notice as deemed necessary to uphold the ongoing
process of technical development.
Windows Vista®, Windows 7®, Windows 8®, Windows 10®are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.
Mac®and Mac OS®are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. TOSlink®is a
registered trademark of Toshiba Corporation. Dolby®is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. DTS™
is a registered trademark of DTS, Inc..