DAC-10 / DAC-10 DSD User Manual
Contents
1. 13 Safety Information Placement Apart from the valves which by their very nature are designed to run hot the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD is relatively cool running and operates well below the maximum allowed temperature for consumer audio It should be positioned so as to allow free airflow around it and not placed on top of other equipment particularly Class A amplifiers which run hot Possible vibrations should be minimised as far as possible For example the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD must not be placed on top of speakers Ideally the unit should be placed in line with or slightly behind the plane of your speakers and additional benefits may be gained by placing it on a good quality isolation platform Cleaning the unit Always disconnect the power cord from the mains socket when cleaning or performing other maintenance Tube replacement The front pair of matched valves can be replaced with the same type allowing users to tune the sound slightly Please contact VAD or your dealer for advice on replacements Valve codes 6SN7 6N8S 1578 ECC32 CV1988 6SN7GT 5692 CV181 or other direct equivalent to 6SN7 are compatible Please note The protective cover will not fit over the taller CV181 valves Use of any other valve type will damage the circuit and invalidate the warranty In case of valve rolling the use of octal valve socket savers is strongly advisable as any damage to the valve sockets caused by valve rolling2. Valve Audio Devices DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD Digital to Analogue Converter DAC 10 Valve Audio Devices User Manual Version 3 5 Introduction The Valve Audio Devices DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD valve DAC is an exquisitely engineered hand built point to point wired unit employing specifically selected components It is designed for the audio purist and refined over countless hours to produce exceptional high definition sound with unparalleled musicality Every component is selected with sound quality as the highest priority and its specially designed dual mono valve analogue stage ultra short signal path native DSD direct playback and advanced dual mono 32bit PCM conversion stage provides the optimum environment for digital audio playback from a variety of signal sources Our VAD DSD Playback platform is a purist design founded on a DSD direct filtered playback method without decimation and digital processing When matched with similarly high quality components the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD reproduce a truly natural sound with realism emotion micro dynamics and resolution to satisfy the most discerning of audiophiles Closing the gap to the original sound and delivering unparalleled musicality with all of the original nuances has now become closer than ever The DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD stands comparison with the world s finest reference DACs regardless of price and come with a 7 year Manufacturer Warranty It has been designed and
3. at VAD option thisproduct or any defective parts in this product within the warranty period Warranty periods may vary from country to country If in doubt consult your dealer and ensure that you retain proof of purchase To obtain warranty service please contact the VAD authorized dealer from which youpurchased this product If your dealer is not equipped to perform the repair of your VAD product it may be returned by you or your dealer to Valve Audio Devices or an alternative authorized VAD serviceagent You will need to ship this product in either its original packaging or packaging affording an equaldegree of protection To qualify for the full seven year warranty the customer must return the Warranty Registration Form included as the last page of this manual to Valve Audio Devices Limited within 30 days of purchase Proof of purchase in the form of a bill of sale or receipted invoice which acts as evidence that this product iswithin the warranty period must be presented to obtain under warranty service This Warranty is invalid if the factory applied serial number and or Warranty sticker has been altered or removed from this product This Warranty is invalid if the proof of purchase cannot be presented A returned product must be accompanied by a written description of the defect Any changes or modifications to the product apart from replacing the tubes as directed in the user manual will invalidate the 7 year warranty This Warrant
4. built with reliability in mind and will last a lifetime with appropriate care Data Formats The DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD will automatically recognise sample rates from 44 to 192kHz and bit rates of 16 24 32bit from SPDIF AES3 digital audio compatible sources through e COAXIAL TOSlink BNC and AES EBU AES EBU DAC 10 only e USB Audio 2 0 input dedicated for PCM audio files up to 32 bit 192kHz e USB Audio 2 0 input dedicated for DSD64 and DSD128datastream DAC 10 DSD only In the DAC 10 DSD the second USB input replaces the AES EBU SPDIF input of the DAC 10 Technical information DSD64 DSD128 playback DAC 10 DSD Our dedicated DSD Direct Stream Digital playback platform passes the USB interfaced DSD Left and Right channel bitstream data through 1bit drivers and onto a high precision double differential FIR Finite Impulse Response active filter The signal is then passed through a passive analogue filter to retrieve the pure audio which is then amplified by the vacuum tube triodes Use of this technique provides the purest possible representation of the DSD stream as music The analogue frequency response of our DSD playback is a staggering 10Hz to 120 kHz with DSD128 and 10Hz to 100 kHz with DSD64 with a drop at 120kHz of only 3dB DSD noise shaping technique frequencies are significantly higher than our 120kHz pass band In addition professionally distributed DSD recordings do not carry real information above the human audi
5. your software won t play native DSD into the USB PCM input or PCM into USB DSD input If you listen to PCM only there is no need to connect the second USB cable to DSD USB input If you listen to DSD only there is no need to connect the second USB cable to PCM USB input We recommend that the DAC gain control is turned down before selecting the DSD USB Audio format once the output of your software player is set to DSD the gain can be increased as needed DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD USB Audio file formats PCM music files Any music file type supported by your computer audio software on Windows OS and Apple OS platforms up to 32bit 192kHz DSD64 anddouble rate DSD128music file types Windows OS DSF DFF DSDIFF Developed and tested with JRiver MP18 DoP 1 0 DSD64 and double rate DSD128 Apple OS DSF DSDIFF SACD ISO images Developed and tested with Audirvana Plus 10 Before switching on functions Front Panel DAC 10 Valve Audio Devices Switching on off Powering ON Flip the mains power switch on the rear panel of the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD followed by pushing the Power button on the front panel Powering OFF Press the Power button on the front panel of the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD When in use at home there is no need to switch OFF the main switch on the rear panel use the back panel switch to completely power off the unit when leaving the house for longer periods IMPORTANT Pow
6. is not covered by the warranty The matched pair of 6N6P should only be replaced with the same type or The matched pair of 6N6P middle pair should only be replaced with the same type or 6H30 6N30P E88CC 6DJ8 The pair of CV574 rectifier back pair valves can be replaced with the same type or 6C5S EZ35 or 6X5GT equivalents Only a VAD authorised service agent should replace the internal ECC84 HF valve 14 IMPORTANT Tube valve replacement The DAC must be powered OFF by the mains switch on the back panel mains IEC socket and then fully disconnected from the mains socket for a minimum of10 minutes before commencing any tube replacement bleeding circuit fully discharges power supplies within 2 minutes but take care as the valves may be still too hot to handle Fuse The unit is fitted with an Anti Surge 1A fuse which is located in the IEC mains socket on the back panel this must be replaced only with the same amperage value a spare fuse is provided in the fuse drawer In case of subsequent fuse failure the unit should to be sent to an authorised VAD service agent for checking Earth connection Theunit must be earthed This is provided by the safety earth contact in the IEC mains socket Make sure that the earth connection of your home mains electrical installation is in order Removing the protective Valve Cover The valve cover is secured to the top of the unit by way of 4 hex bolts being access
7. supplies are inductor choke loaded series resistor less and bespoke designed The current generation of DAC 10 DSD has 18 power supplies working with five mains transformers Vacuum tube analogue output stage The DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD vacuum tube triode analogue output stage is point to point engineered to operate as 1 PCM stage differential audio signal coupling transformer less 2 DSD stage audio signal coupling 3 Gain control part of this function implemented in DC mode 4 Signal dependent variable tube biasing automatic 5 Signal amplification 6 SE and balanced out signal stage The whole tube circuit is operating in pure Class A Selected by VAD audio signal capacitors are hand wound waxed ALU foil paper in oil in parallel with silver mica and copper foil in Teflon to create our unique combination of one per output channel Casing The unique VAD casing is designed as a monocoque structure with the fulfilled aim for extremely high mechanical rigidity EMI and RFI screening and vibration damping It is polymer coated and additionally polyurethane silenced The only structural parts fitted with screws are the aluminium top cover and valve cover Electrically the casing is directly fully grounded via the safety earth pin in fused IEC socket Direct grounding provides the highest electrical safety and also means that the EMI RFI screen really is a screen not just a piece of metal in the way of interfer
8. CM 10Hz to 120 kHz 3dB DSD128 10Hz to 100 kHz 3dB DSD64 120dB 110dB 113dB 1x AES EBU DAC 10 only 1x RCA Coaxial 1x BNC 1x Toslink optical 1x asynchronous 32 bit 192kHz USB 2 0 PCM input 1x asynchronous USB 2 0 DSD DoP 1 0 input DAC 10 DSD only 50mV to 4 4Vrms approximate 1x XLR balanced max 4 5Vrms adjustable 1 xSingle ended RCA outputs 50mV to 4 4Vrms adjustable lt 300ohms lt 30ps 16 24bit SPDIF 16 24 32bit USB PCM All sample rates between and including 44kHz 192kHz PCM 16 32bit up to 192 kHz PCM 17 Thermionic valves used Power consumption AC mains operation voltage DAC 10 DSD PCM DSD64 2 8MHz DSD128 5 64MHz 6 144MHz double rate 2x 6SN7 dual triode or equivalent 2x 6N6P dual triode or equivalent 2x CV574 full wave rectifier or equivalent 1x ECC84 HF dual triode or equivalent 58W Factory set for 220 240V 50 60Hz 100 120V 50 60Hz factory set version can be ordered at no additional cost Fuse type Dimensions Net Weight approximate Shipping weight approximate 1A Anti Surge 20mm fuse H 15cm xW 44cm x D 29cm 14kg 19kg 18 Valve Audio Devices VAD DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD Warranty Information Valve Audio Devices Limited warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of seven 7 years from the date of purchase subjectto the terms set forth below Valve Audio Devices will repair or replace
9. In most circumstances when used with a preamplifier or integrated amplifier the output level of 2Vrms will be achieved atthe 12 o clock position and pro audio level of 4 2Vrms at 3 o clock approximate The remote control unit for the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD controls the gain control and allows up and down gain control from the listening position Lock The Lock indicator will light up when the compatible digital signal is detected and the input of the DAC is synchronised with a digital signal source The Lock indicator is only used for SPDIF input sources The DAC is now ready to operate DSD Rate switching The rotary selector switch SW1 of the DAC 10 DSD serves also as a DSD rate switch The nature of our DSD playback topology is direct filtered DSD playback without decimation and digital processing VAD DSD playback is more analogue in its nature than digital hence there is no DSD rate sensing circuitry tapped into the stream In this purist approach the manual DSD rate switch is necessary The first DSD position is for DSD64 and second the last rotary position clockwise for DSD128 12 You can notice the analogue nature of our VAD DSD platform simply by playing DSD64 in the DSD128 switch position the playback will continue but with an analogue hiss as you would expect from an FM radio that is out of tune to the station By using the correct filter for the correct DSD stream accordingly the hiss will disappear
10. ble spectrum so there is no ultrasonic energy there to pass into your system Therefore we decided to open the analogue frequency response in our DSD playback trusting that music lovers will experience how much can be really perceived in the music reproduction The S N ratio of VAD DSD direct filtered playback is 110dB with DSD64 and 113dB with DSD128 Crucially our DSD playback method is free of digital processing and separate from the PCM circuitry SPDIF sources playback SPDIF bi phase signal is interfaced to a high frequency high input impedance triode valve configured in balanced digital mode and precisely matched to our selected SPDIF receiver in balanced digital mode This method gives the benefit of the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD being highly immune to the sometimes poor electrical signal quality from SPDIF transports and or digital coax interconnects which can influence the sound A better transport will improve the overall sound However the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD will sound exceptionally superior with even the most basic SPDIF signal sources and digital interconnects PCM USB Audio playback High end asynchronous USB audio is 12S interfaced to the PCM 32bit decoding stage with two mono converters L amp R The stage is free of any post filtering and coupled I V to two mono vacuum tube triode analogue output stages Power supply Power supplies are independent for digital and analogue and Left and Right channels All power
11. dify the design of any product without obligation to purchasers of previously manufactured products and to change the prices or specifications of any product without notice or obligation to any person DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD is a UK Patent Office international registered design Valve Audio Devices Limited 17 Ashby Road Welton DAVENTRY NORTHAMPTONSHIRE NN11 2JS UNITED KINGDOM Company No 08298028 Copyright Valve Audio Devices Limited 2013 20 Valve Audio Devices VAD Warranty Registration Form First Name Title Last Name I Full address number and street City Postcode Zipcode State Province I Country I Phone Number E mail Address receive up to date information on new products and promotions Date of Purchase day month year IETT Please indicate the serial number and warranty number of this product Found on the ID labels attached to your product SN NO rinena e E Warranty NO secareusorosrarisenstenis You may receive information on a new products and special promotions Email or call us to update your communication preferences We will not share any of your information with other companies for any marketing purposes If you do not wish us to send you VAD product updates please mark this box Please complete the form upon purchasing your product Detach and send it within 30days to Valve Audio Devices Limited 17 Ashby Road Welton Daventry Northampton
12. ences Used components During long R amp D process all components were selected for the overall sound benefit of the whole design without compromises The separate components count of the DAC 10 DSD is 600 and include selected paper in oil and silver mica capacitors 0 1 tolerance foil resistors selection of Sanyo OsCon Panasonic and Nichicon polymer caps Rubycon ZLJ ZLH ZL Panasonics FC FM FR carbon resistors and metal resistors silver wire and tinned copper wire fast RF relays and old fashion solder tags chosen top quality linear voltage regulators Schottky rectifiers FR diodes and valve rectifiers inductors ceramic valve bases newest digital IC s and NOS New Old Stock valves non magnetic screws copper rails Teflon silicone selection of COG NPO X7R MKP MKS capacitors and other parts including many VAD secrets All components are new and current production apart from NOS vacuum tubes sourced mostly from UK suppliers All designed and chosen by us for you to enjoy the music CONTENTS Introduction 2 Technical info 3 5 Unpacking 6 Connection 7 8 9 10 11 Before Switching ON functions 12 13 14 Safety 15 16 Burn in 17 Specifications 18 19 Warranty Information 20 21 Warranty registration form 22 Unpacking In the flight case you will find the following e 1x VAD DAC 10 DAC 10 DSDvalve DAC e 1xremote control e 1x Power cord e 1x Hex key for removing the valve cover e User manual Remove all content
13. er ON the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD approx 2 min BEFORE switching ON your other audio components such as amplifiers etc Make sure that the Volume control of your amplifier or pre amplifier is close to minimum position volume turned down Switch your other audio components such as amplifiers OFF before turning OFF the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD 11 Whilst the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD will sound superb from the moment it is switched on due to the nature of valves its sound will improve even further as it warms up After 20 minutes it will be on song after approximately 40 minutes it will reach its peak performance To maximise the life span of the valves it is recommended to minimise the number of times that the unit is switched on and off e g where several listening session may be planned during the course of the day it is better to turn the unit on before the first session and only turn it off at the end of the final session rather than on and off at the end of each session Ideally the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD would be kept switched on The DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD have the power consumption of 58W during normal operation with signal connected Gain Control The remote controlled signal output level Gain control is located in the centre of the front panel Itis designed to match the output level of the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD to a wide range of preamplifiers and integrated amplifiers but can also facilitate direct connection to power amplifiers
14. ible through slots in the valve cover The cover may be removed in order to facilitate tube replacement by using the supplied long hex key 2mm tool to undo the bolts We do not recommend using DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD without the protective cover valves are hot when operating DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD valvesoperational life span information The DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD have been designed to the highest parameters with each component rigorously tested We have chosen to use NOS New Old Stock valves due to their audio qualities and longevity However due to the nature of vacuum valves we offer a 90 days from purchase date warranty for the valves originally supplied for peace of mind 15 Burn in time Each DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD is hand built and then tested through for a minimum of 24 hours burn in test all input sources all output levels This means that the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD has a 24 hours burn in period prior to delivery Once installed we recommend a further 100 hours burn in period for the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD to reach its full potential 16 Specifications Audio Signal Frequency Range Dynamic range PCM Dynamic range DSD64 128 Digital inputs Output Signal Level adjustable via gain control Analogue Outputs Output impedance Total correlated jitter SPDIF Digital input word widths supported Digital input sampling frequencies supported USB Audio 2 0 DAC 10 PCM 10Hz 20 kHz 0 1dB P
15. ptacle type Coaxial Use a RCA plug terminated coaxial interconnect of your choice for the COAXIAL digital input The cable for the COAXIAL input should be no longer than 1 5m 5 feet for the best result USB Use USB 2 0 cable fitted with USB type B plug terminated for the DAC side For best results use a good quality USB 2 0 cable without any sleeve inductors NB DAC 10 USB interfaces are powered from our on board purpose designed extremely low noise linear power supply not from your USB socket which is used for data transfer only TOSlink Use preferably multi strand glass fibre type optical audio cable NB 24bit 192kHz sample rate playback through TOSlink cannot be guaranteed BNC Use same type of preferred coaxial cable as used for the RCA Coaxial input terminated with the BNC plug Audio outputs Balanced Use screened twisted pair cables fitted with 3pin XLR plugs receptacle type plug for the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD end When using the balanced connection pin 1 is ground pin 2 is hot and pin 3 cold Make sure this complies with your other audio equipment and consult with your dealer for any necessary modifications RCA analogue interconnects for single ended outputs RCA cables should ideally be no longer than 1 5m 5 feet between the audio outputs of the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD and the line level input of your preamplifier or integrated amplifier NB We advise that balanced and unbalanced a
16. s Keep the flight case in case of need to ship the DAC 10 DAC 10 DSD Place the DAC on a sturdy surface e g hi fi rack or isolation platform and plug in the power Connection reset E s DIGITAL INPUTS AES EBU G usB a y 2 TOSlink and handbuilt by Valve Audio Devices in England VAD DAC 10 inputs reset DIGITAL INPUTS AES EBU USB 2 FN TOSlink Ain ac O AES Coax Designed and handbuilt by Valve Audio Devices in England THS DEVICE MUST BE EARTHED ANALOGUE OUTPUTS SERIAL No VAD DAC 10 DSD inputs reset DIGITAL INPUTS lt 0 TOSiink gt anc AES Coax DSD COAXIAL Designed and handbuilt by Valve Audio Devices in England 220 240 50 60Hz AG POWER N Digital inputs DAC 10 digital audio connectivity e AES EBU balanced digital audio input e BNC SPDIF digital audio input e COAXIAL SPDIF digital audio input e TOSlink optical SPDIF digital audio input e USB 2 0 audio PCM input up to 32bit 192kHz DAC 10 DSD digital audio connectivity e BNC SPDIF digital audio input e COAXIAL SPDIF digital audio input e TOSlink optical SPDIF digital audio input e USB 2 0 audio PCM input up to 32bit 192kHz e USB 2 0 audio DSD input for DSD64 DSD128 stream AES EBU Use a screened twisted pair cable from the digital output of your CD transport or CD player to the AES EBU digital input of the DAC 10 AES EBU socket is a rece
17. shire NN11 2JS 21
18. udio outputs are not being connected used simultaneously possibility of ground loop on some systems Input selector switches The VAD DAC 10 DSD has two rotary switches on the back panel e Switch 1 SW1 will let you choose between the TOSlink BNC Coaxial PCM USB DSD USB and DSD rate 64 or 128 e Switch 2 SW2 provides three PCM decoding custom settings to choose CD Audio Hi Res Mix In COAX SW1 switch position DAC will automatically choose an active signal source between the AES EBU and COAXIAL inputs In DAC 10 DSD position is inactive DAC 10 DSDonly The AES EBU SPDIF input is replaced by a USB DSD input for DSD64 DSD128 playback example dsf dff iso SW1 in DSD mode also activates a separate analogue path for DSD playback PCM and DSD Computer playback If you have both formats PCM DSD of music files on your computer connect both USB inputs to your computer using quality USB 2 0 cables Both USB interfaces will operate in kernel streaming recommended or ASIO mode selected at your software player end To play DSD files switch the DAC 10 SW1 switch to first DSD position DSD64 or 2 DSD position DSD128 choose the DoPbitstreaming output format in the options of your computer software player To play PCM music files stop the DSD playback switch the DAC 10 SW2 switch to PCM USB position choose the PCM compatible output format in options of your computer software player Please note
19. y does not cover cosmetic damage or damage due to acts of God accident misuse abuse negligence commercial use or modification of or to any part of the product This Warranty does notcover damage due to improper operation maintenance or installation or attempted repair by anyoneother than Valve Audio Devices or a VAD dealer or authorized service agent which is authorized to carry outValve Audio Devices warranty work Any unauthorized repairs will void this Warranty This Warrantydoes not cover products sold AS IS or WITH ALL FAULTS 19 REPAIRS OR REPLACEMENTS AS PROVIDED UNDER THIS WARRANTY ARE THE EXCLUSIVE REMEDY OFTHE CONSUMER VALVE AUDIO DEVICES LIMITED VAD SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIALDAMAGES FOR BREACH OF ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY IN THIS PRODUCT EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW THIS WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FORA PRACTICAL PURPOSE Some Countries and US states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequentialdamages or implied warranties so the above exclusions may not apply to you This Warranty gives youspecific legal rights and you may have other statutory rights which vary from state to state or country tocountry For any service in or out of warranty please contact your dealer Valve Audio Devices reserves the right to mo
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