Nagra TUBE DAC, User Manual

Page 1: ...P N 2055111159 All rights reserved 2019 rev 3 TUBE DAC D A converter User manual ...

Page 2: ...Reset of input names 14 Input assignment 15 Audio settings 17 Line level 17 Line mode 18 Absolute phase 19 USB power 20 Remote 21 About 22 USB set up with computers 23 Connecting the TUBE DAC to your system 24 Setting the headphones amplifier level 24 Operating your TUBE DAC 26 Front selector 26 Nagra Modulometer 26 Modulometer display intensity adjustment 27 Phase mode selection 27 Headphones out...

Page 3: ...SA certifies that this device has been inspected and tested before leaving the factory Every Nagra unit goes through our test laboratory The result of the measurements is recorded in the Protocol documentation that comes with your device We guarantee our products against all manufacturing defects for a period of three years for the TUBE DAC and six months for the tube running from the date of deli...

Page 4: ...performance and the company has received many awards for its technical innovations and the excellence of its products over the years Among the most prestigious Nagra has been awarded three Oscars and an Emmy Our experience precision and dedication to detail has been implemented to do service to music your music This is why we wish you many hours of listening pleasure and memorable moments enjoying...

Page 5: ...ependent supply sources for the digital and analog portions of the electronics This dual powering system was developed to eliminate any interference between the different elements and guarantee an uncompromising audio transparency Connecting to a Nagra MPS CLASSIC PSU The TUBE DAC will reveal its full potential with the full chassis power supply Nagra MPS or Nagra CLASSIC PSU which were specifical...

Page 6: ...LASSIC PSU when the blinking LED on the right side of front panel switches OFF Now you can start up the TUBE DAC by selecting the desired position on front selector Disconnection First turn the TUBE DAC front selector to OFF and wait for its complete shutdown when display and modulometer backlight switch OFF Then turn the power supply unit front selector to OFF and wait for its complete shutdown w...

Page 7: ...rom a PC a MAC computer a NAS TOSLINK is a standard optical data connection AES EBU XLR input conforming to the AES 3 standard Four optical Nagra links Two S PDIF inputs 1 on BNC 1 on RCA 4 DC power inputs Analog powers the TUBE DAC analog section Digital powers the TUBE DAC digital section UAC2 stands for USB Audio Class 2 works to connect computers PC or Mac as well as other computer type device...

Page 8: ... 1 USB B type DSD up to DSD256 DSD4x PCM up to PCM 384kHz 2 TOSLINK EIAJ optical MM fiber PCM up to PCM 192kHz 3 AES EBU PCM up to PCM 192kHz 4 7 ST MM fiber DSD up to DSD256 DSD4x PCM up to PCM 384kHz 8 S PDIF 1 BNC PCM up to PCM 192kHz 9 S PDIF 2 RCA PCM up to PCM 192kHz ...

Page 9: ... 7 This switch selects the routing of the analog outputs OUTPUT is for the line RCA or XLR output PHONES for headphones jack 8 The front selector is the principal activation switch for TUBE DAC In the OFF position the TUBE DAC is in Standby mode 9 Headphones output jack 10 Infra Red sensor window for the remote control and its activation LED In standby mode the power consumption is less than 100 m...

Page 10: ...tures are managed using the controller knob which can be rotated or pressed Press and hold the Controller knob for 2 seconds to access the menus You can navigate within the menu tree through the different topics by rotating the Controller To exit the menus press the Controller knob for 2 s How to operate the Controller knob Controller Normal operation Inside menus Press and hold 2 s Access menus E...

Page 11: ...ify the selections are given below LANGUAGE ENGLISH FRANCAIS DEUTSCH ESPAÑOL ITALIANO INPUT NAMES AES S PDIF 1 S PDIF 2 NLINK1 NLINK2 OPTICAL USB DEFAULT NAMES INPUT ASSIGNMENT AES to USB for every input DISABLED REMOTE BUTTON A REMOTE BUTTON B REMOTE BUTTON C REMOTE BUTTON D REMOTE BUTTON E REMOTE BUTTON F NO REMOTE BUTTON DEFAULT ASSIGN AUDIO SETTINGS LINE LEVEL LOW HIGH LINE MODE DIRECT VARIABL...

Page 12: ...nt to start by setting the language First press and hold the Controller knob for 2 seconds to enter the menu mode and the following display will be shown LANGUAGE ENGLISH Press the Controller knob briefly then the currently selected language will start to flash Rotate the Controller knob to select the desired language and press the Controller knob once more to store the desired selection ...

Page 13: ... on the display and press the Controller knob once more An underscore _ will appear beneath the first character of the current name as shown and rotating the Controller knob will scroll through the available characters Each consecutive press of the Controller knob will move to the next character Once the entire name is complete press the Controller knob until the cursor underscore disappears from ...

Page 14: ...gh times on Controller knob to reach the 10th character position and one more time as above to remove the cursor from display The selected name is stored Reset of input names If you are unhappy with the names you have chosen you can reset all the input names to Factory Settings Go into the INPUT NAMES menu scroll to the last one DEFAULT NAMES HOLD CTRL Press the Controller knob 2 s and all input n...

Page 15: ...becomes blinking Then rotate the Controller knob to change the option for the selected input For each input you can select the following DISABLED The input is deactivated the input is not displayed any longer in main menu where you select the working input REMOTE BUTTON A to F Allocate the IR remote control key active for the selected input NO REMOTE BUTTON The input is active but does not have an...

Page 16: ...MENT menu INPUT ASSIGNMENT Press the Controller knob to display the first input and its currently selected option AES REMOTE BUTTON A Rotate the Controller knob to the last position of input list DEFAULT ASSIGN HOLD CTRL Press 2 s on the Controller knob and all input assignments are reset to factory setting ...

Page 17: ...1 3 VRMS or HIGH 2 VRMS as your analog output level To change the level go to AUDIO SETTINGS Press the Controller knob to display the first parameter and its currently selected level LINE LEVEL LOW This is the state the TUBE DAC is currently set To change the level press the Controller knob and select LOW or HIGH by rotating it then confirm by pressing once again the Controller knob the new desire...

Page 18: ...pressing once again the Controller knob the new desired LINE MODE is stored Note When you change the setting from VARIABLE to DIRECT the TUBE DAC will be muted a blinking D will appear on the right down corner of main display This is just to remind you that you are now in DIRECT mode the signal will be at full AES NO SIGNAL D level If you have changed this setting by accident there is time to come...

Page 19: ...n inverted mode is active AES Ø NO SIGNAL You may also define the default phase inside the AUDIO SETTINGS menu AUDIO SETTINGS Press the Controller knob to enter into the AUDIO SETTINGS menu and rotate it to select OUTPUT PHASE OUTPUT PHASE NORMAL By default NORMAL is selected as shown here To change the phase press the Controller knob and select NORMAL or REVERSE by rotating it then confirm by pre...

Page 20: ...e Controller knob to enter into the AUDIO SETTINGS menu and rotate it to select USB POWER USB POWER ALWAYS ON By default ALWAYS ON is selected as shown here To change the setting press the Controller knob and select ALWAYS ON or IF INPUT ACTIVE by rotating it then confirm by pressing once again the Controller knob the new desired USB POWER setting is stored Note IF INPUT ACTIVE is set the computer...

Page 21: ...mote Control Unit using RECS 80 format as Nagra RCU II In this case you will choose the IR Remote Control Unit key allocated to your TUBE DAC 6 different keys are available To select the mode go to REMOTE RC 5 Press the Controller knob to enter into the REMOTE menu By default RC 5 is selected as shown here To change the setting rotate the Controller knob and select RC 5 or DEVICE y y 1 to 6 then c...

Page 22: ... counter will let you know how many hours the tube has been powered for Whenever you change the tube you can reset it Normally the internal tube of the TUBE DAC should last for a minimum of 5 000 hours of normal operation To reset the counter press the Controller button to get confirmation message TUBE TIME RESET COUNTER Then press the Controller knob a second time to reset the counter To exit wit...

Page 23: ...layback device no further software is required Simply select the Nagra TUBE DAC device in the audio settings menu PC You will need to install a driver and update your ASIO drivers as well the drivers are to be found on the USB key supplied with your Nagra TUBE DAC More information on inputs and formats The TUBE DAC comes with 7 different digital inputs Please find the format compatibility in the a...

Page 24: ...y available Setting the headphones amplifier level The headphones amplifier output level can be adjusted by the means of jumpers to match the sensitivity of your headset The settings to change your headphone amplifier are inside the TUBE DAC so your dealer should adjust it upon delivering of the unit WARNING Hazardous live parts are accessible when equipment is open risk of electric shock tube HV ...

Page 25: ...output Note When listening through headphones the perceive level is always lower than the actual level If you are in any doubt please use the Limited power output setting Also be careful of possible high level differences when switching from the external output to the headphones output and vice versa HEADPHONES OUTPUT This equipment is capable of producing high sound levels which can be harmful to...

Page 26: ...ote control unit Nagra Modulometer The Modulometer or modulation meter was inherited from the second professional recorder developed by Nagra back in 1952 the Nagra II The Modulometer is a typical Nagra precision instrument that displays the necessary information to make the best possible recordings In the case of the TUBE DAC the Modulometer displays the digital input level The 0 dB corresponds t...

Page 27: ...ctivate the PHASE switch Pulling up the toggle switch will activate the phase inversion Pulling it down will deactivate the phase inversion Headphones output selection To activate the headphones output pull down the two way switch to PHONES position Pull it up to activate the output connectors located on TUBE DAC back panel HEADPHONES OUTPUT This equipment is capable of producing high sound levels...

Page 28: ...put selection in menu list Press on key to select one input after current input selection in menu list Power OFF ON key Toggle key to switch OFF and ON the TUBE DAC When switching ON the TUBE DAC automatically select the last input active before last power OFF Note This key is only operative when front selector is turned to R position Battery installation exchange Open the battery drawer by removi...

Page 29: ...he following table Code Function 1 to 7 AES to USB inputs 32 33 Input change step up or step down 16 Volume Up 17 Volume Down 13 Mute 12 Power OFF ON TUBE DAC channel selection Factory settings The TUBE DAC is factory set to the Philips RC 5 format encoding Changing device number If you wish to use a specific device number for your TUBE DAC for instance on a RCU II select the desired DEVICE number...

Page 30: ...imum useful life is 5000 hours Actually some tubes operate consistently for more than 10 000 hours Thus the useful life of the tubes is somewhat unpredictable Rather than replacing the tubes arbitrarily after 5000 hours we suggest that you identify the signs of ageing The distortion gently increases to an audible level Presence of clicks dry and short noise like breaking dead wood Presence of pops...

Page 31: ...nsformers Output level 1 3 or 2 VRMS Analog output Noise level 128 dBr 1 kHz 1 3 V linear Distortion 0 02 20 dBFS THD N 0 03 192 kHz Frequency Response 5 Hz 40 kHz 0 1 dB Crosstalk 99 dB Inter channel phase 0 1 20 kHz Power supply 2x 12 V 1 A External Nagra power supply 1x MPS or 1x CLASSIC PSU Power consumption max 24 W Operating temperature 15 C to 35 C 59 F to 95 F Moderate climate Operating en...

Page 32: ...32 Nagra TUBE DAC Declaration of conformity ...

Page 33: ... electrical and electronic equipment By ensuring this product is disposed of correctly you will help prevent potential negative consequences for the environment and human health The recycling of materials will help to conserve natural resources For more detailed information about recycling of this product please contact your local authority your household waste disposal service or the shop where y...