User manual APOGEE DA-2000

[. . . ] DA-2000 20-bit Stereo Reference Digital/Analog Converter - Switcher with UV22 Operating Manual Rev 1. 0 -- November 1998 DA-2000 Operating Manual Manual written by Julio Alvarez. Produced and edited by Richard Elen. UV22 is a Registered Trademark of Apogee Electronics Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders. Technology within the DA-2000 including the Low Jitter Clock may be covered by one or more patents that are the property of Apogee Electronics Corporation. [. . . ] Turn the trim pots in the appropriate direction until the meter reads "0VU". Page 14 DA-2000 Operating Manual What the Professionals Have to Say about Apogee Products "I have been listening to A/D and D/A converters since 1977. Each time a new converter came out, it sounded better than the one before it. Last week in Nashville, I compared three of the best converter packages available. The very best converter package should do absolutely nothing--the playback of the digitally stored data should sound no better and no worse than the original source. The clear winner of the Nashville test was the Apogee converter package. I had put off buying my own converters for a couple years. After the Nashville test, I had no more excuses. " --Roger Nichols, Recording Engineer and Producer "The DA-1000 lets me hear exactly what I'm putting on the CD Master. The clarity and lack of coloration is remarkable. There is no harshness, thinness or artificial warmth. Each instrument is in its correct position without having its size changed or its edges blurred. Reverb and delays sound correct without drying up. " --Ted Jensen, Sterling Sound; New York, NY "In our tests, the Apogee AD-500 retained more of the ambience and definition than ever before and was discernable all the way to the end product, the CD disc. We feel that it is now possible to bring forth more of the information that was originally intended for the CD consumer. " --Bernie Grundman, Grundman Mastering; L. A. , CA "I have lots of conversion equipment, but with the DA-1000, it's as if I'm listening directly to the analog source. " --Stephen Marcussen, Precision Mastering; L. A. , CA. "How do I get the highest quality analog to digital conversion without having to lug DAT machines all over the planet, and still maintain some sort of consistency. . . ?Your marvelous, portable AD-500 and DA-1000 Digital Converters!The Apogees have made my life so much simpler. " -- Bob Clearmountain, Recording Engineer and Producer "After listening to virtually all of the currently available D/A converters, the Apogee is by far the most accurate!" -- Glenn Meadows, Mastering Engineer; Masterfonics, Nashville, TN. "As you know, we have been very pleased with the DA-1000. With the addition of the AD-500, we have added a new standard of musicality and sonic accuracy. When we compared the sound of the entire digital chain using the AD-500 and DA-1000, the end result was the closest to the original source we have ever heard!" --Steve Hall, Future Disc Systems; L. A. , CA. Page 15 DA-2000 Operating Manual A User's Guide to Understanding Digital Audio Interconnects Digital Audio without Making Your Eyes Glaze Over You've probably read, or at least started to read many articles on digital audio. Like me, you may be guilty of skipping the technical diagrams and jumping to the last page for the conclusions. Understanding how digital audio works is akin to getting into the details of how MIDI controls musical instruments -- it's handy information but not necessary for making music. Most digital audio users' eyes glaze over when discussing the technical aspects of the subject. On the other hand, discussing why one digital audio box won't talk to another can make the same eyes bug out and face turn red!Many of us have experienced the frustration of trying to make one piece of digital audio gear connect to another without success. Digital audio is not so new anymore, so its reasonable to assume that interconnects should be "no brainers". [. . . ] More than that: the noise actually sounds quite objectionable. Truly random (white) noise contains all frequencies and sounds particularly obnoxious. As a result, several manufacturers and researchers have attempted to improve the situation by developing methods of hiding or "shaping" the noise created by the dithering process. This may appear even more important when you record a signal, say, in 24-bit form and want to reduce it to 16-bit for Compact Disc. [. . . ]