M2TECH YOUNG DSD, User Manual

Page 1: ...M2TECH YOUNG DSD HIGHEST RESOLUTION DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER DIGITAL PREAMPLIFIER USER MANUAL REV 1 0 2 2014...

Page 2: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 2 M2Tech www m2tech biz...

Page 3: ...ch has been subject to unauthorized modifications or to misuse or to malfunction of a unit which has been subject to unauthorized modifications This unit is compliant with the following CE regulations...

Page 4: ...onic Equipment By making sure that this unit is correctly recycled you will help preventing potential damages to environment and human health which could be caused by a wrong treatment of this product...

Page 5: ...sing every kind of digital source The balanced output and the stock adaptors for single ended connection allow for driving every kind of amplifier The ability of setting the maximum output level to tw...

Page 6: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 6 M2Tech www m2tech biz...

Page 7: ...Source Selection 23 7 5 Menu Navigation 24 7 6 Balance Setting 25 7 7 Choosing the Maximum Output Level 26 7 8 Setting the Display s Backlight Intensity 27 7 9 Choosing Volume Mode 28 7 10 Setting th...

Page 8: ...3 Windows Driver Panel 61 8 3 4 Using the YOUNG DSD as Windows predefined audio device 70 8 3 5 Configuring the player FooBar and JRiver Media Center 72 8 3 6 Connecting the YOUNG DSD to an USB 1 1 po...

Page 9: ...ase contact your retail dealer Remove the YOUNG DSD from the foam enclosure and place it onto a stable base far from heat sources Avoid full sunlight on the unit Allow for ample room around the unit f...

Page 10: ...TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 10 M2Tech www m2tech biz Do not place the unit on thick carpets or inside a box or piece of furniture not even...

Page 11: ...M2Tech Srl 11 M2Tech www m2tech biz 2 Front Panel Figure 1 1 Power on power off mute menu exit button Press this button to switch the YOUNG DSD on when it s off When the YOUNG DSD is on a short press...

Page 12: ...s lit to indicate to the user that the device can be switched on by the included remote control 3 Display Multifunction LCD Display During normal operation it indicates the listening level the selecte...

Page 13: ...ed inputs you may insert the stock high quality adaptors into the YOUNG DSD outputs and then connect the YOUNG DSD to the amplifier using coaxial interconnect terminated with RCA plugs The YOUNG DSD i...

Page 14: ...ot recommended for highest performance to connect a source provided with RCA S PDIF output to the DAC S PDIF input provided with BNC connector using a suitable BNC to RCA adapter Note that this option...

Page 15: ...awakening it DIM Display dimming PHASE Analog signal phase toggle MENU Configuration menu access ESC Menu exit with changes discarded Cursor keys Allow for menu navigation OK Menu exit with changes st...

Page 16: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 16 M2Tech www m2tech biz...

Page 17: ...DSD USB input Figure 2 10 If you want to use the YOUNG DSD as a preamplifier connect the analog outputs to the inputs of a power amplifier otherwise connect the outputs to a pair of inputs on an integ...

Page 18: ...w m2tech biz NOTE it is possible to use a dedicated low noise power supply in place of the wall wart to increase the sonic performance M2Tech provides a device for this purpose Should the user opt for...

Page 19: ...eaning the Unit The YOUNG DSD should be cleaned with a soft slightly damp cloth Do not use alcohol or any other types of cleaning fluids as they could damage the unit Avoid fluids from dropping or lea...

Page 20: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 20 M2Tech www m2tech biz...

Page 21: ...ing which the indication in Fig 4 is displayed M2TECH YOUNG DSD DAC Figure 4 After the power on delay is expired some general operational information is displayed on the YOUNG DSD display as shown in...

Page 22: ...ggle The YOUNG DSD is provided with a feature muting which allows for immediately lowering of the listening level by 20dB without touching the encoder knob This feature is useful when it is necessary...

Page 23: ...seful in various ways For example it s known that some recordings were made with inverted phase Absolute phase can therefore be restored applying a second phase inversion into the DAC Moreover balance...

Page 24: ...setting 7 5 Menu Navigation The YOUNG DSD allows for configuring various parameters some of which the ones less frequently changed are grouped in a menu which can be navigated by both the front panel...

Page 25: ...s necessary to access the first menu item The balance setting feature is shown as in Fig 7 CHANNELS BALANCE L R Figure 7 Left channel is increased with regards to right channel by rotating the encoder...

Page 26: ...higher voltages than those provided by a normal DAC to reach the full output power voltages which on the other hand are largely excessive for a preamplifier The YOUNG DSD is capable of delivering an o...

Page 27: ...8 OUTPUT VOLTAGE 5 0V Figure 8 7 8 Setting the Display s Backlight Intensity The YOUNG DSD display s backlight intensity can be set on four different levels An automatic mode is also available which...

Page 28: ...ening levels For example a listening level of 15dB is higher than a listening level of 20dB In steps mode the maximum listening level is 192 while positive values with decreasing magnitude indicate de...

Page 29: ...ically switch off after a certain idle time By idle we mean a time lapse in which user didn t access any control like volume or mute User can set the auto switch off time between 10 and 240 minutes in...

Page 30: ...rent firmware release information to decide whether an update is required or not This can be accomplished by accessing the menu as one of the items is that related to firmware revisions as shown in Fi...

Page 31: ...hen it is switched off by the front panel will keep a minimum current consumption because the main controller and the IR receiver will stay on waiting for an activation command from the remote control...

Page 32: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 32 M2Tech www m2tech biz...

Page 33: ...be downloaded from M2Tech website www m2tech biz Look under Products and then under Young DSD to find this driver for download to your PC Below the procedures to set a computer for music playback by...

Page 34: ...IGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 34 M2Tech www m2tech biz list as shown in Fig 14 The YOUNG DSD is indicated as M2Tech USB 2 0 Audio Out...

Page 35: ...ble to set some parameters related to the YOUNG DSD operation specifically the sampling frequency at which the Mac will send audio samples to the DAC by the MIDI Audio window as shown in Fig 15 Figure...

Page 36: ...setting like Amarra PureMusic and Audirvana Unlike iTunes other players need to be properly configured to use the YOUNG DSD as output device As an example Fig 16 shows the configuration window of Audi...

Page 37: ...www m2tech biz 8 1 1 DSD files playback with Mac The YOUNG DSD is able to play music files recorded with the DSD format A player able to send DSD data to the YOUNG DSD in a standard format handled by...

Page 38: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 38 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 17...

Page 39: ...udio management window and setting the various parameters as shown in Fig 18 which shows Ubuntu s audio configuration windows Ubuntu is one of the most successful Linux distributions Other distributio...

Page 40: ...right 2014 M2Tech Srl 40 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 18 Depending on the chosen player it is necessary to configure it to use the YOUNG DSD Obviously each player has its configuration parameters As a...

Page 41: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 41 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 19...

Page 42: ...paragraph to the present chapter no Microsoft operating system natively supports USB Audio Device Class 2 To listen to music files with the YOUNG DSD connected to a computer running Windows it is the...

Page 43: ...e 20 NOTE files are extracted in the folder displayed in the window usually the desktop For a better handling of the installation operation we suggest to create a temporary folder and extract files in...

Page 44: ...FIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 44 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 21 Once the files are extracted open the temporary folder or the folder you have designated and run the setup...

Page 45: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 45 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 22 Once setup is launched the window shown in Fig 23 appears...

Page 46: ...t 2014 M2Tech Srl 46 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 23 NOTE It may happen that the operating systems shows a warning window first stating that the setup application will modify the operating system Clos...

Page 47: ...omputer and switch it on Then click on the Next button to proceed with installation The window shown in Fig 24 will appear Figure 24 If the DAC is correctly connected to the computer after a few secon...

Page 48: ...ight 2014 M2Tech Srl 48 M2Tech www m2tech biz When the Young is off YOUNG DSD or when the computer doesn t recognize the connection to the YOUNG DSD then window shown in Fig 25b may appear In this cas...

Page 49: ...ech Srl 49 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figura 25b If the window shown in Fig 25a has appeared and the user has clicked on the Install button the installation procedure goes on and a new window appears that...

Page 50: ...0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 50 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 26 At the end of installation the windows will show the complete list of installed files and will enable the buttons located...

Page 51: ...PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 51 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 27 As suggested by the instructions click on the Next button to confirm the installation The final se...

Page 52: ...Y 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 52 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 28 Click on the Finish button to close setup The driver installation is now complete NOTE Some Windows versions require a reboot to ena...

Page 53: ...big red T icon in the peripheral section of Windows bar or in the active peripherals window depending on operating system version Fig 30 below shows Windows 8 window as an example Figure 30 NOTA With...

Page 54: ...association process At this point only will the YOUNG DSD YOUNG DSD YOUNG DSD YOUNG DSD be correctly recognized and can be used to listen to music files 8 3 2 Windows driver uninstall The YOUNG DSD dr...

Page 55: ...VERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 55 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 31 By double clicking USB Audio Driver for M2Tech the uninstall application is launched whi...

Page 56: ...REAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 56 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 32 It s sufficient to click on the Uninstall button to start uninstall A windows appears that shows the...

Page 57: ...ON 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 57 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 33 At uninstall completion the window will show the entire list of deleted files and will enable the buttons located to t...

Page 58: ...PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 58 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 34 Click on the Next button to confirm uninstall completion and to close the uninstall utility One la...

Page 59: ...Srl 59 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 35 Clock on the Finish button to close the application At this point if the user launched uninstall from the Control Panel it is possible to verify that the driver...

Page 60: ...REAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 60 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 36 NOTE Even after uninstall depending on the Windows version used it is possible that the system may r...

Page 61: ...te the YOUNG DSD firmware The panel can be restored in the foreground by clicking on the big red T icon present in the right part of the Windows bar or in the peripherals window depending on the opera...

Page 62: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 62 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 37...

Page 63: ...est is the driver version as users may visit the M2Tech website from time to time to check for availability of more recent driver versions and eventually go for an update to download and install By cl...

Page 64: ...buffer which bypasses the operating system and needs a specific setting As a general rule a small buffer is to be preferred when low latency is required e g when the YOUNG DSD is used to listen to a...

Page 65: ...he firmware upgrade feature Firmware Upgrade Fig 40 is fundamental to keep the YOUNG DSD up to date More details in chapter 10 Figure 40 For every device associated to a driver instantiation a setting...

Page 66: ...ION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 66 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 41 Apart some parameters which are displayed but cannot be changed by the user it is interesting to note the streaming m...

Page 67: ...olume setting Anyway we suggest not to use this feature as the YOUNG DSD has a built in analogue volume control which has much better sonic performance It s important to be aware that in case of the a...

Page 68: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 68 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 43...

Page 69: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 69 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 44...

Page 70: ...UNG DSD as Windows predefined audio device When using certain players such as Windows Media Player or when listening to streaming music from the Internet it is necessary to set the YOUNG DSD as the pr...

Page 71: ...in the case shown in Fig 45 From that moment on every sound produced by Windows or any application which relies on Windows to deliver its sound will be sent to the YOUNG DSD It is also possible to tel...

Page 72: ...yer able to directly interface to the driver using a transfer mode like Kernel Streaming WASAPI or ASIO all are bit perfect modes as they ensure that no signal changes occur during the transfer from t...

Page 73: ...FooBar s root folder the ASIO file which is downloaded from the FooBar website is an application which automatically installs the DLL in the right folder without any explicit action by the user It onl...

Page 74: ...Tech Srl 74 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 47 The zip file contains two executables both to be used one for the installation of the component for the compatibility with SACD ISO files plus a proxy file...

Page 75: ...opyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 75 M2Tech www m2tech biz After installing DLL and proxy in the ASIO section of Output two ASIO objects will appear Fig 48 the M2Tech driver and the proxy foo_dsd_asio Figure 4...

Page 76: ...SD files to the YOUNG DSD The second player used as an example is JRiver Media Center www jriver com JRiver is a commercial player a closet product which is delivered provided with all the needed feat...

Page 77: ...SION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 77 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 50 Then open the window for the configuration of the output mode Output mode settings which is obviously dedicated to A...

Page 78: ...0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 78 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 51 At this point JRiver recognizes the capability to handle DSD in DoP DSD over PCM format From the dropdown menu which is sel...

Page 79: ...MPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 79 M2Tech www m2tech biz Figure 52 A window will automatically appear in which the user can manually set the bitstream configuration param...

Page 80: ...treams with sampling frequency higher than 192kHz An operation which is usually enabled to cope with all those DAC s still the vast majority which can only accept sampling frequencies up to 192kHz Obv...

Page 81: ...ser can now listen to PCM files up to 384kHz and DSD files up to DSD128 8 3 6 Connecting the YOUNG DSD to an USB 1 1 port It is possible to connect the YOUNG DSD to an USB 1 1 port under Windows In th...

Page 82: ...PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 82 M2Tech www m2tech biz In such a scenario the YOUNG DSD will still be usable however limited to audio PCM files with sampling frequ...

Page 83: ...is connected This feature is very useful whenever the computer is placed close to an audio system therefore away from the user who can now conveniently use the YOUNG DSD remote control Three keys are...

Page 84: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 84 M2Tech www m2tech biz...

Page 85: ...most recent update from the M2Tech website 2 Connect the YOUNG DSD to the computer with the stock USB cable 3 Turn the YOUNG DSD on 4 Activate the driver management panel by clicking the big red T ico...

Page 86: ...YOUNG DSD DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTER AND PREAMPLIFIER REVISION 1 0 FEBRUARY 2014 Copyright 2014 M2Tech Srl 86 M2Tech www m2tech biz...

Page 87: ...le XLR connectors Power input 5 5 2 1mm jack with positive on tip Output voltage 2 7Vrms 0dBFS single ended with adaptors normal 5 4Vrms 0dBFS single ended with adaptors high 5 4Vrms 0dBFS balanced no...

Page 88: ...ww m2tech biz Volume setting 0dB to 96dB in 0 5dB steps Muting 20dB Balance setting 6dB in 1dB steps Phase 0 180 Automatic switch off 10 to 240 minutes in 10 minutes steps plus disabled Supply 15VDC 3...