Back Panel - MSB Technology Gold Link Dac III User Manual

Back Panel

The back panel contains the interface connectors and one toggle switch.
Analog Audio Input - The analog input provides a high quality pass-through switch-
ing feature that has many applications. In other words, the pass-through connec-
tions are made unless a digital input is active. Active means that the source
plugged in is powered on, but not necessarily playing. This feature can be changed
to only switch when nonzero digital signals are present. In this case the analog
input is only interrupted when the digital source is playing, not just turned on. This
option is specifically designed for use with C and Ku satellite receivers such as the
4DTV receiver. To configure this option, see the setup section.
Analog Audio Outputs - The LINK III outputs a standard 2V RMS at 0 dB. The
output impedance is 330 ohms.
Balanced Digital Input - The balanced input has the highest input selection prior-
ity. Over our many years of producing high-end audio products we have found
that the AES/EBU balanced professional digital audio format consistently outper-
forms all others for tonal accuracy, focus and image stability. As all DACs derive
their clocks from the incoming digital bit stream, the quality and accuracy of the
source, transport and interconnections are very important. This format offers the
lowest jitter for two reasons. First, because the actual voltage level of the signal is
10 times greater than SP-DIFF. Secondly, as a balanced system, noise rejection is
complete. Noise on a digital interface shifts the digital translations, increasing
jitter. If you do not have a good transport with a balanced digital output, MSB
offers a balanced digital output upgrade to any digital source.
MSB Network Input - Although the MSB Network operating at 192kHz uses the
same connector as a balanced digital audio connection, several significant differ-
ences exist. Most importantly, the cable must be of a twisted pair construction, not
of a coaxial nature. Wire such as CAT5 is perfect for the MSB Network. The other
significant difference is that clocks and data are actually sent separately in the
MSB network, like Audio Alchemy's old I S interface. This results in greatly im-
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proved performance, even with CD playback.
Single Ended Digital Inputs - Both a Toslink optical and Coaxial Digital audio input
are provided. Autodetection selects either active input. If both are active, the
Coaxial input is selected. Active inputs are indicated with front panel LEDs.
Toggle Switch - The toggle switch down leaves upsampling off. Up turns upsampling
on.
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