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Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the X-DAC. We sincerely hope that it
will bring you many years of listening pleasure.
The X-DAC uses some of the latest in CD technology to pro-
vide a genuine upgrade to the performance of your CD player
whether you are playing standard or HDCD disks.
The X-DAC uses an 18 bit Burr-Brown "Co-phase" DAC which
combines bitstream conversion for the lowest bits and R-2R multibit
for the higher bits, subjectively this gives both the low level detail
resolution and smoothness of bitstream with the solid bass response
and timing of multibit. The special HDCD compatible digital filter
used incorporates 8 times oversampling (which allows a simple and
phase-coherent analog filter), digital domain de-emphasis and auto-
matic decoding of HDCD encoded disks.
This is a new way of recording CD's that gives improvements in
dynamics and detail resolution. Your X-DAC is fully compatible
with this process and will automatically detect if a CD disk is HDCD
encoded and then perform the correct de-coding, in this mode the
HDCD indicator on the front panel will light up.
Installation Precautions
Your new X-DAC is designed and built to provide trouble-free
performance, as with all electronic devices it is however necessary to
observe a few precautions. Please ensure that you have complied
with these before you connect the power to your X-DAC. Retain this
guide for future reference.
n nDo not use the X-DAC near water.
n nKeep the X-DAC away from heat sources such as
radiators.
n nOnly use the mains adaptor provided. The use of
other adaptors could seriously damage your X-
DAC.n nPlace all connecting cables where they are not likely
to bewalked on or trapped by items placed on them.
This Hi-Fi product has been tested to ensure that its operation
will not be adversely affected by normal background levels of R.F.I.
(Radio Frequency Interference). It is possible that if the unit is sub-
jected to abnormally high levels of R.F.I. the unit may not perform as
expected. In the unlikely event of this happening please contact
Musical Fidelity's service department.
Do not remove any covers, the X-DAC will not be covered
under warranty if it has been tampered with. There are no adjust-
ments within. Please refer all service work to an authorised Musical
Fidelity agent.
Connections
All connections should be made before the mains adaptor is
plugged in.
The X-DAC is easy to connect into your system. Simply con-
nect a digital output from your CD player (or other digital source) to
one of the X-DAC's digital inputs. The X-DAC has both optical and
electrical type digital inputs, you may use either. Then connect the
X-DAC left and right outputs to a line level input (e.g. CD or AUX)
on your amplifier system. Once these connections are made plug in
the mains adaptor, the "Lock" LED should light to show that the X-
DAC has detected a valid incoming digital signal and one of the
sample frequency LEDs should light (44.1kHz for CD, 48kHz for
DAT etc.)
The X-DAC has been designed so that it may be left on
indefinately.
The X-DAC has two sets of outputs you may use either of these
to connect to your amplifier. For the best results we recommend that
you use Musical Fidelity X-LINX "no-nonsense" interconnect cables.
Further improvements in sound quality can be gained by using a
Musical Fidelity X10-D valve line stage between the X-DAC outputs
and the inputs of your amplifier - contact your dealer for details.
