| Frequently Asked Questions |
|
Will a Dac3 process my cable TV box audio? The cable box needs to send a standard PCM data stream. the Dolby data stream is encoded and needs the decoding that a surround reciever provides to play back correctly. You would need to see if the cable box has a menu setting for transmitting PCM data not Dolby data. Many DVD players have this setting and modern Cable boxes may have this option also. I’m taking the SACD plunge. Can I run raw SACD into my DAC and will it covert it correctly to analog? No the DAC3 SPDIF inputs (or any SPDIF input for that matter) will only accept PCM encoded digital streams. If your SACD player can output, for example, 24/96 PCM encoded data converted from the DSD bitstream then you could play back SACD through the DAC3 or any other SPDIF input dac. Another issue is that there are no sources that I know of that even output ‘RAW’ SACD data… I’d like to know would there be advantages hooking up the DAC3 to a Pre3 or is the DAC3’s preamp stage good enough? Dac3 direct is better than a Dac3 through the PRe3. If you need an analog input I would recommend getting a low cost pro 24/96 ADC product in the $500-$1k range and use the digital 24/96 output into one of the DAC3 digital inputs. This can sound stunning. Can the DAC 3 be used to switch between multiple digital sources that are simultaneously connected to the DAC 3 ? Yes the Dac3 can switch between 5 active digital sources. Can an Apple Airport Express be connected to the USB input to transfer music from iTune to the Dac 3? Yes you can hook up the Toslink digital output of an Airport Express to the Toslink input of the Dac3. I have done this. The USB is not used for music playback… I have the Dac3 connected directly into the 300amp — it seems that the volume is set very high 80+ — is this the normal? Yes this may well be normal. Are you using the Balanced connections as the output level is 6dB higher than the RCA outputs? The volume control is designed to run on the high side as the level control is in the digital word. This insures maximum dynamic range from the system. Does the Dac3 require a driver cd or download for the computer to connect with it’s usb input? No, the Dac3 will automatically be recognized as an audio device by both Windows XP/Vista and Mac OSX 10 operating systems. I am finding that my Dac3 listening levels are taking place between 55 and 80 on the volume scale. This is perfectly normal as the gain structure of the Dac3 is different than the analog PRe3 or S300i. We designed the Dac3 to run ‘hotter’ (nearer to 100) as this optimizes dynamic range in both the analog and digital domains. You still have plenty of headroom available. Indeed we have had systems running with the Dac3 at or above 90 at very, very loud levels for short periods. Can an iPod be connected to the USB input on a Dac3? The USB link on the iPod is only for synchronizing with iTunes. The digital data is not available from the iPod. The USB port on the Dac3 can be used to link to the computer with your iTunes library for playback. Can both the XLR and RCA outputs of the Dac3 or PRe3 be used at the same time? Yes, for example you could connect the XLR outputs to the amplifier inputs and the RCA outputs to the line level inputs of your subwoofer. This works well, just note that the RCA outputs on the Dac3 are 6 dB lower than the XLR. Your subwoofer level control can compensate for this difference. How do I use Headphones with a bel canto preamp? The best way to do this would be to get a simple headphone driver from www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/ for example and use the Record out from the preamp section into the driver. You can then mute the main output and listen only to the phones while adjusting level on the headphone amp. How can I connect an analog source to my Dac3? You can get something like the EMU 0404 USB 2.0 and use it to digitize analog inputs to input to the Dac3. The EMU can be used stand-alone in Monitor mode with SPDIF or TOS digital out into the Dac3. I have done this to listen to LP and the results are excellent. At $200 it is hard to beat with 113dB dynamic range for the ADC. It has either XLR or 1/4″ jack inputs so you will need an adapter for RCA inputs. Another option to check would be the Lucid AD9624.
|
