Digital Audio Inputs - Parasound HINT 6 Owner's Manual

Digital Inputs: OPT 1, OPT 2, COAX, USB
The HINT 6's built-in 32 Bit DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) uses a very high resolution
384 kHz ESS Sabre32 ® Reference DAC IC. Since the HINT 6's DAC is superior to the DACs in
most digital source components, they will sound better if you connect one of their digital outputs to
the HINT 6's DAC instead of connecting their analog output jacks.
Using a TV, Blu-ray, DVD Player or Gaming Console's Digital Output
If you connect a TV, Blu-ray player, DVD player, cable TV box, satellite receiver or gaming console
to your HINT 6 you must go to the device's audio setup menu and select stereo PCM (2.0). The
HINT 6's DAC accepts only two-channel stereo PCM. It does not accept Dolby Digital or DTS
formats.
Opt (Optical) 1 & 2
The Optical 1 and 2 inputs use high speed Toslink receivers. Each accepts PCM digital
signals up to 192 kHz with 16 or 24-bit word lengths.
Optical Interconnect Note
with a short (no more than 6 feet/2 meter) optical cable. Be careful when handling the
optical cable. It cannot be bent at a sharp angle without impairing its ability to transfer the
digital signal from your source to the HINT 6.
Coax (Coaxial)
The Coax (also called S/PDIF) input connector is an RCA jack. It accepts PCM digital signals
up to 192 kHz with 16 or 24 bit word lengths.
Coaxial Cable Note: Digital coaxial cables often look like typical analog audio cables, but
their electrical characteristics are not always the same. The HINT 6 Coax input works best
with a true 75 ohm cable which typically has 75 ohm, RG6 or RG59 printed on the cable
jacket. Using an ordinary audio cable can make the signal unstable, resulting in high levels
of jitter and even audio dropouts.
USB
The USB input is used to connect your HINT 6 to your Windows
allows high quality playback of any music files that are stored on your computer and streaming
music services you access over the internet. The USB Input accepts PCM sampling rates up to
384 kHz with 16, 24 or 32-bit word lengths. The USB input also accepts native DSD and DoP
(DSD over PCM).
The HINT 6 uses USB 2.0 which requires users of some older versions of Windows
download and install drivers on their computer. MAC users do not need to install any drivers.
Follow the instructions on the next page of this manual to setup your computer for use with the
USB input.
USB Cable Note: Inexpensive USB cables longer than 6' (2 m) are often unreliable and a
common cause of audio drop-outs. If a longer USB cable is required, a higher quality USB
cable will usually offer more consistent results.
Playing Music from your Computer
Once initial computer setup is complete your HINT 6 will be ready for use with your PC or Mac.
Press the USB button on the HINT 6's remote control or rotate the HINT 6's Input select knob until
the blue USB indicator is illuminated. Simply start playing any music on your computer and it will
be sent to the HINT 6 via the USB cable. Any sound that you would normally hear through your
computer speakers will be heard through the HINT 6 and your accompanying audio system.
Note: For the highest quality sound playback we recommend leaving the computer application's
volume control at 100%. Then use the volume control on your HINT 6 to set the listening level.
:
176.4 kHz and 192 kHz sampling rates will only play reliably
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® PC or Mac computer. This
® to first