321 Studios D33 manual installation, Placing the unit, Power, Interconnect cables, English

installation

Arcam’s D33 DAC provides class-leading sound quality from computer USB connections, AES/ EBU connections, optical and coaxial S/PDIF connections and supported Apple® devices.

The D33 uses dual state-of-the-art Advanced Segment DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) ICs, which together with a custom digital filter, audiophile analogue components, a massively- over-engineered power supply and JetPLL™ clock jitter elimination provide unprecedented performance and sound quality.

The reference performance D33 DAC is designed to truly bring your music to life.

Warning!

The output of the D33 is at line level. Do not connect directly to a power amplifier or active speaker system without a volume control,

as this will cause all playback to be at full volume. Equipment or hearing damage may result.

Always connect the D33 to an integrated amplifier, preamplifier or other device with a volume control.

English

Placing the unit

<Place the DAC on a level, firm surface, avoiding direct sunlight and sources of heat or damp.

<Do not place the DAC on top of an amplifier or other source of heat.

<Do not place the DAC in an enclosed space such as a bookcase or closed cabinet unless there

is good provision for ventilation. The DAC is designed to run warm during normal operation.

<Do not place any other component or item on top of the DAC as this may obstruct airflow around the unit, causing the DAC to run hot.

<Make sure the remote-control receiver (behind the FMJ logo on the front panel) is unobstructed, or remote control will be impaired.

<Do not place your record deck on top of this unit. Record decks are very sensitive to the noise generated by mains power supplies which will be heard as a background ‘hum’ if the record deck is too close.

Power

The DAC is supplied with a moulded mains plug already fitted to the lead. Check that the plug supplied fits your supply – should you require a new mains lead, please contact your Arcam dealer.

If your mains supply voltage or mains plug is different, please contact your Arcam dealer immediately

Push the IEC plug end of the power cable into the socket on the back of the DAC, making sure that it is pushed in firmly. Plug the other end of the cable into your mains socket and, if necessary, switch the socket on.

Interconnect cables

We recommend the use of high-quality screened cables that are designed for the particular application. Other cables will have different impedance characteristics that will degrade the performance of your system (for example, do not use cabling intended for analogue audio use to carry digital audio signals). All cables should be kept as short as is practically possible.

It is good practice when connecting your equipment to make sure that the mains power-supply cabling is kept as far away as possible from your audio cables. Failure to do so may result in unwanted noise in the audio signals.

The remote control and trigger inputs

The REMOTE IN input can be used to pass RC5 codes (listed on page E-10) to the D33 if it is installed in a position, or a system, where infrared cannot be used. If this is required, please contact your dealer for further information.

The 12v trig in input can be used to switch the D33 in and out of stand-by. Connecting the trigger output of your Arcam amplifier (or other compatible device), will cause the D33 to come out of stand-by automatically when the amplifier is switched on, returning to stand-by when the amplifier is switched off. Please see your amplifier handbook for further information.

In normal use there is no need to make any connections to these inputs.

The RS232 input is for optional connection to a home automation system or a computer. Various third-party sytems are available providing sophisticated control over all your entertainment devices using touch screens etc. Contact your dealer or installer for further details. The technical details of the remote control protocol are available from Arcam on request (email support@ arcam.co.uk).

The remote control input requires a mono 3.5mm jack, with the tip active and the sleeve grounded.

The remote control signals must be in modulated RC5 format (at 36kHz), with a voltage level of between 5V and 12V.

Connecting to an amplifier

The D33 DAC provides a pair of unbalanced audio outputs on standard RCA phono connectors and a set of balanced audio outputs on male XLR connectors. All audio outputs are available simultaneously, allowing multiple devices to receive the D33’s output signal. However, to maintain the cleanest possible signal path the pair of unbalanced outputs is not individually buffered. This means that if two amplifiers are connected, both must be powered on to avoid degrading the signal.

Most audio amplifiers, including the Arcam FMJ range, will connect to the RCA phono connectors using standard interconnect cables. This connection is recommended for short cable runs. The D33 output behaves like a CD player and operates at line level. Connect to any line level input such as those marked ‘CD’, ‘AUX’, ‘AV’ etc. Do not connect to any input intended for a record player (usually labelled ‘Phono’).

If your amplifier or other replay equipment has balanced connections, you may use the balanced XLR output. This connection provides greater rejection from electrical interference and is useful when cables are long (more than a few metres) or in electrically-noisy environments. Balanced connections also have the ability to reject ‘hum’ caused by ‘ground loops’.

E-5