AudioNemesis DC-1 VLE Manuale utente

OWNER’S

MANUAL

AudioNemesis

DIGITAL TO ANALOGUE AUDIO CONVERTER

DC-1 VLE

Very Limited Edition

M DC1VLE REV.00 ENG OCT 2009

www.audionemesis.com

AudioNemesis

Enjoy the Music

Superior Audio Products

Designed and Handmade in Ita y

All right re erved, any copy, partial or complete,

i forbidden unle authorized with a written con ent.

Graphic Fabio Camorani — Giu eppe Intorrella

Fabio Camorani

Via G. Orceoli, 11B — 47122 Forlì — Italy

VAT IT03182620405

AudioNemesis

INTRODUCTION

• Read carefully these instructions before turning on this appliance. Keep these instructions in a sure

place for future readings.

• Heed all warnings.

• Follow all instructions.

• Do not use this device near water, or with high humidity, or under the rain or moisture.

• Do not install near heat sources such as radiators, stoves or other apparatus (including amplifiers

producing heat.

• Clean only with a dry cloth.

• Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

• This device can be used only for purposes it is designed for.

• Never open the appliance: risk of electric shock. Refer servicing to qualified personnel only.

• Do not modify the appliance.

• Use high quality cables and power cord. Protect the cord from being walked on or pinched,

particularly at plugs, extension cords and the point at which they exit the unit.

• The device is connected to ground through the power cord. Be sure that the power cord you are

using has the ground connection. Be also sure that your connector has the ground connection. A

grounding type plug has 2 blades and a third grounding prong. The third prong is provided for your

safety. If the provided plug does not fit, into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of

the obsolete outlet.

• Before connecting this appliance to the mains, be sure that the voltage information in the rear label

of the appliance is compatible with your mains voltage.

• If the appliance had wide thermal shocks (for example, from low external temperature to high room

temperature , do not turn on the appliance, but wait till the appliance temperature equals the room

one (about 1 hour .

• Unplug this device during lightning storms or when not used for long periods of time.

• Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel only. Servicing is required when the unit has been

damaged in any way, such as power supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or

objects have fallen into the device, the unit has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate

normally, or has been dropped.

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for your purchase of the AudioNemesis DC-1 Very Limited Edition!

This product represents a great evolution in audio technology at affordable price. It represents an important

step to Music bringing the listener to emotion of live Music events.

This product is designed for the best

quality of sound and reliability, matching unprecedented performance with convenience not obtainable

from most high performance products.

All AudioNemesis products are made for helping you in listening to your favourite Music for many years;

no compromises in core parts.

AudioNemesis products are not made for a limited life, every part is used to take you in listening to you

favourite Music for a very long time: we respect You and Music above all.

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING AUDIONEMESIS

No expressed or implied warranty is made for any AudioNemesis product damaged by accident,

No expressed or implied warranty is made for any AudioNemesis product damaged by accident, No expressed or implied warranty is made for any AudioNemesis product damaged by accident,

No expressed or implied warranty is made for any AudioNemesis product damaged by accident,

abuse, misuse, natural or personal disaster, unauthorized modification. Any disassembly,

abuse, misuse, natural or personal disaster, unauthorized modification. Any disassembly, abuse, misuse, natural or personal disaster, unauthorized modification. Any disassembly,

abuse, misuse, natural or personal disaster, unauthorized modification. Any disassembly,

components or parts replacement, perforation or modification of the chassis or modifications

components or parts replacement, perforation or modification of the chassis or modifications components or parts replacement, perforation or modification of the chassis or modifications

components or parts replacement, perforation or modification of the chassis or modifications

performed to the unit will void the warranty.

performed to the unit will void the warranty.performed to the unit will void the warranty.

performed to the unit will void the warranty.

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AudioNemesis

CAUTION

CAUTIONCAUTION

CAUTION

To reduce the risk of electric shock do not remove the cover or the front panel or any other

part. Inside there is no user serviceable parts. Refer servicing to qualified personnel only.

WARNING

WARNINGWARNING

WARNING

To reduce the risk of electric shock or fire, do not expose this appliance to moisture or rain.

This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to the presence of dangerous voltage (inside the

enclosure that may be sufficient to constitute a risk of shock.

This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to important operating and maintenance instructions

in the accompanying literature. Please read the manual.

This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to the need of specific disposal, due to recycling,

following the Directive 2002/96/EC (WEEE . Please refer to your National Register for the correct

procedure or call your official AudioNemesis dealer / distributor.

This product complies with the EMC directive (89/336/EEC and the low voltage

directive (73/23/EEC .

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AudioNemesis

A Letter FROM Fabio Camorani

Dear Audio Enthusiast,

Thank you for your purchase of the DC-1 Very Limited Edition.

AudioNemesis was born to offer serious and reliable products, instruments for Music lovers. At the centre of all

AudioNemesis products there is only Music. Most of competitors are offering products for impressing

Audiophiles, but after a few discs only, audiophiles feel the need for a change! This is due to a poor and not

natural sound. The reproduction of Music is a repeatable event by definition and also imperfect. I think that

reproduction may have many interpretations. The one by AudioNemesis put Emotion behind everything, a

step ahead, because this is the only common element between Produced (Live Music and Reproduced

(Home Music. Emotion is the essence of the Music. Listening to Music using AudioNemesis products you will

have all the Emotion of Live Music, without special effects, without pretending, no false creations. Natural

feeling, richness of harmonics, details of the event: everything is reproduced with a very clear sense of LIVE,

without false aspects, without false sounds.

When the DC-1 was introduced in 2005, it was a very good success. Like all other AudioNemesis products,

DC-1 was designed without preconceptions, without following trends, and without following the latest

technology “innovation”. On the contrary, circuit simplicity and a minimum number of components is a key

element. Less is better, “keep it simple”, but we do want to use the right device for the right purpose in the

right way. Our products are simple appliances, using only the minimum quantity of parts for the proper work,

following “the simpler the better, but not even simpler”. DC-1 was understood as a very special product,

designed and built in a unique way for its class, an instrument for Emotions, for Music. It was clear its design

was a breaking point with the past, because it was totally different from what offered by the market, a simple

circuit, full of uncommon choices for its class and rare in absolute, no matter the cost. The market of digital to

analogue converters in this class (but also up to a few times the cost is full of similar products, similar in

schematic and sound. And maybe with the latest chip. It’s very rare to see original designs, with real study and

research on sound (with clear ideas and listening tests . And the net (and ebay is truly full of similar and very

cheap zero-oversampling converters. Despite the simple topology very similar to our product and to the

original design (Kusunoki , and despite the high quality parts, they sound bad, without the richness of the

Music, with no balance.

However, in spite of the success we never stopped developing this concept. We made a lot of tests, we

listened to all comments and critics from our customers. This way we found new improvements. From these

points the Up-Grade KIT was born, in December 2007. And in August 2008 we introduced the DC-1 Upgrade

Edition, an already up-graded DC-1. The Upgrade Edition was the result of the research made with the first

tests of the VLE.

But we never stopped again. The original circuit was developed again and again in parallel with the offer of

the Up-Grade KIT and the DC-1 Upgrade Edition. We improved step by step all the circuit, finding new ways

for a better sound. So, after 5 years of DC-1 we have decided to offer a very special edition, named VLE,

that’s Very Limited Edition. A new amazing product! We all are so proud of it!

VLE is a unique product, we have produced only 40 pieces, all together, hand crafted, manually verified and

signed.

If You have the DC-1 VLE in your hands, You are a Music lover. I’m sure you’ll love it, and you’ll listen to

your favourite Music for many years using the DC-1 VLE.

Sincerely,

Fabio Camorani

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AudioNemesis

DC-1 VLE D/A AUDIO CONVERTER:

RODUCT HILOSO HY AND DESIGN

This is the simplified structure of standard DC-1:

As it can be seen, the original DC-1 did make use of a very simple and effective design (fall 2004 . There was

only one input (S/PDIF 75 ohms with a top quality digital transformer. Then a receiver, an asynchronous

reclocking circuit, one 16bit d/a converter with zero

zerozero

zero-

-oversampling

oversamplingoversampling

oversampling. and a simple, Class A output stage. This

technique is now rather known (

www.sakurasystems.com/articles/Kusunoki.html

and known are also many

related designs. A very important aspect of the project was the power supply, with a custom made mains

filter, a custom made power transformer and seven (7 regulators, one for each main component of the

circuit, instead of two (2 as usually done by other manufacturers. Six (6 of them were shunt type! Only in

very few products, no matter the cost, we can find shunt regulation. This kind of regulation is very effective

from the sound point of view, but it’s more difficult and expensive than the series type.

With the Upgrade Edition (fall 2007 some important improvements have been done:

There is still only one input connection, the SPDIF 75ohm, using a gold plated RCA connector with Teflon

insulation followed by a pulse transformer of the highest quality, not so common even in high cost products.

This component is the top-of-the-line by Scientific Conversion

Scientific ConversionScientific Conversion

Scientific Conversion, with only 0,5pF (! . We don’t use cheap pulse

transformers, but the best! This choice is very important to reduce the noise, as shown in AES Journal articles

(

www.scientificconversion.com

. Even if it’s clear the advantage, it’s not so common to find a digital

transformer also in cost-no-object products.

Other than this, the input structure has not been modified.

M DC1VLE REV.00 ENG OCT 2009

On the contrary, from the dac (d/a converter everything is different! Diodes have been exchanged with really very

special devices. They are fast-soft recovery type in TO-220 case and they have top performance in terms of speed

(<25ns and smoothness, improving in a dramatic way the sonic performance!

While standard DC-1 used one 16bit d/a converter chip, the Upgrade Edition was using 2 chips in parallel, for better

resolution and improved driving capability. Moreover, the shunt regulated power supply dedicated to the dacs

have been improved with one more discrete bipolar transistor.

In Upgrade Edition the signal has been taken directly from the dac chips, avoiding any analogue stage or output

buffer. A pair of very expensive and exceptional capacitors branded AudioNautes

AudioNautes AudioNautes

AudioNautes connect the dacs to the output

RCA connectors. These capacitors were wound onto a nylon core using a 10µM (630Vdc polypropylene film. This

winding technique allows the winding to be controlled in terms of winding tension resulting in a tight winding

devoid of as many air pockets as possible. Controlling the critical production processes the sonic outputs resulting

from resonances within the component are reduced from the level seen within other capacitors. They are really

superior and the result of a 2 year research programme. They have very low self-inductance and very low ESR,

with very high temperature and frequency stability. Compared to other expensive capacitors, this model is far

superior in any aspect, such as micro and macro dynamic, harmonics, micro and macro details. Hand soldered

terminations are in pure copper for better sound results.

Another exclusive is the use of a very expensive product, called HDG

HDGHDG

HDG (High Density Graphite , just like the DC-1.

With the VLE model we are offering much more! Just an extreme version of the concept developed for the DC-1.

This is the structure of the VLE:

First of all, there are three inputs: S/PDIF 75ohm (with a Canare

Canare Canare

Canare true 75 ohm RCA gold plated connector , optical

(Toslink and USB. After the Canare 75 ohm connector there is the top-of-the-line Scientific Conversion

Scientific Conversion Scientific Conversion

Scientific Conversion pulse

transformer, of the highest quality, with only 0,5pF (! . The optical connector is Toshiba original. The USB

connector has gold plated contacts. The USB signal goes to the USB receiver, that’s 16bit 48kHz. The selection

among the signals is made through a proprietary input switch. Nothing to do with common solid state switches.

The audio digital receiver (with two dedicated shunt regulated power supplies and the asynchronous reclocking

circuit (with another dedicated shunt regulated power supply are the same used for the other DC-1 versions. But

after the reclocking there are 8 dac chips in parallel, each one with its own shunt regulated discrete power supply

with an outstanding rejection

rejection rejection

rejection of -120dB @ 20kHz each!

AudioNemesis

M DC1VLE REV.00 ENG OCT 2009

AudioNemesis

The output from the dac chips is simply connected to the output RCA connectors through AudioNautes

AudioNautes AudioNautes

AudioNautes special RED

capacitors (already described .

All components are absolute top quality, not common industrial devices, but special devices chosen after listening

tests. Resistors outside the audio path are 1% metal film everywhere, but metal oxide in power supply. In the audio

path there are 2 resistors only (per channel : one is the fantastic and very expensive Vishay Naked Bulk Foil

Vishay Naked Bulk Foil Vishay Naked Bulk Foil

Vishay Naked Bulk Foil and the

other one a Dale

Dale Dale

Dale audio resistors. All final bypass capacitors of the power supplies are very close to the relative part

of circuit, to minimize impedance.

The PCB

PCB PCB

PCB follows professional high quality standards and is designed without edges

without edgeswithout edges

without edges. It’s gold plated

gold plated gold plated

gold plated in this special

version, to maximize audio performance.

Thanks to the very high quality design and building, the noise

noise noise

noise is very low, lower than high priced products, but

without any feedback or feed-forward technique.

This AudioNemesis DC-1 VLE had a test of at least sixty (60 minutes

sixty (60 minutes sixty (60 minutes

sixty (60 minutes at the end of the production chain, and it is

individually

individually individually

individually checked by Fabio Camorani. A minimum of 100 hours of break-in is recommended, even better if 200

hours. A warm-up of at least 30 minutes is suggested before any use for the best performance.

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AudioNemesis

Power Supply: 230/240 Vac 50 Hz +/- 10%

Power consumption: 18 Watts

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20 kHz + 0dB/ -1dB

Output level @ 0 dB: 1,7 Vrms @ 1kHz digital full scale

Output: Inverting

Converter: 8 multibit converters, 16 bit each

Oversampling: 0 times

THD: <0.1% @ 1,7 Vrms @ 1kHz

Output impedance: <2 00 ohm

Input: Gold plated RCA, Teflon - S/PDIF 75 Ohm - 24 bit/96 kHz

Gold plated USB Series B connector 16 bit/48 kHz — USB 1.1 Specifications

Toshiba Toslink optical digital

Output: Gold plated RCA, Teflon - unbalanced

Dimension (WxHxD : 23 x 8,5 x 34 cm.

Weight: 4 Kg

Shipping weight: 4,5 Kg

All specifications can change without notice.

S ECIFICATIONS

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AudioNemesis

1.1.

1. Name

Name Name

Name AudioNemesis

When the item is ON the name turns ON with a blue back-light.

2.2.

OnOn

On-

-switch

switchswitch

switch

The on-switch is in the lower part of the chassis, front-right side.

3.3.

3. Mains connector

Mains connectorMains connector

Mains connector

Always connect the power cable with the power switch turned OFF (power switch pushed to the

rear side of the chassis

4.4.

Fuse

FuseFuse

Fuse

The mains power fuse is inside the connector. Never change it if not blown. Never open it if the

appliance is ON. Always verify the data reported in this manual.

5.5.

Mains characteristics

Mains characteristicsMains characteristics

Mains characteristics

Verify that the data reported on the rear panel of the chassis match the characteristic of the mains

line of your country.

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AudioNemesis

6.6.

Analogue outputs

Analogue outputsAnalogue outputs

Analogue outputs

Connect the analogue signal cable to these output pins. Then connect the other side of the cable to

your preamplifier or integrated amplifier etc. Be sure that the output characteristics of this unit match

the input characteristic of the unit you want to connect to.

7.7.

USB (Type B input connector

USB (Type B input connectorUSB (Type B input connector

USB (Type B input connector

Connect the USB cable with proper Type B connector to this input pin. Then connect the other side

of the cable to your USB source (PC, laptop etc . Be sure that the output characteristics of the unit

match the input characteristics of this converter.

8.8.

Toslink input optical connector

Toslink input optical connectorToslink input optical connector

Toslink input optical connector

Connect the optical cable with proper optical connector to this input pin. Then connect the other

side of the cable to your CD player or transport. Be sure that the output characteristics of the unit

match the input characteristics of this converter.

9.9.

75 ohm digital input

75 ohm digital input75 ohm digital input

75 ohm digital input

Connect the electrical S/PDIF 75 ohm cable to this input pin. Then connect the other side of the cable

to your source (CD player, CD transport etc. . Be sure that the output characteristics of the unit

match the input characteristics of this converter. A high quality cable with pure 75 ohm male

connectors is highly recommended for the highest sound quality.

10.

10.10.

10.

Input selection switch

Input selection switchInput selection switch

Input selection switch

Use this switch to select the source you want to use. The drawing on the panel helps to understand

the selection depending on the position of the switch.

11.

11.11.

11.

Red LED for digital error

Red LED for digital errorRed LED for digital error

Red LED for digital error

This LED turns ON when the input digital signal is un-correct, not valid or not present.

HOW TO USE THE A LIANCE

• How to turn on the converter

How to turn on the converterHow to turn on the converter

How to turn on the converter

Turn ON the appliance AFTER turning on the CD player / transport first.

• Mains voltage

Mains voltageMains voltage

Mains voltage

No power cable is offered with this appliance. Please use a good quality power cable: this improves

the performance is this d/a converter.

• Connection cables

Connection cablesConnection cables

Connection cables

No digital and analogue cable is offered with this appliance. Please use good quality cables both for

digital and analogue connections. Using good quality cables may give a very big improvement in

sound quality reproduction and gives you even better Music listening sessions.

• Mains filtering

Mains filteringMains filtering

Mains filtering

In this appliance there is a high quality mains filtering unit. This is a custom design to assure the

highest final quality and to meet CE requirements. Before using an external filter, conditioner,

stabilizer or any other appliance please do a deep listening session to verify effectiveness, to

avoid sound quality problems.

• Cleaning

CleaningCleaning

Cleaning

Use a high quality lint-free cloth that has not been treated with chemicals of any kind. Dampen the

cloth with warm water only. Do NOT use cleaning agents of any kind, such as alcohol or other

common cleaning products.

M DC1VLE REV.00 ENG OCT 2009

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