ATHA5050H - Headphone amplifier AUDIO TECHNICA - Free user manual and instructions

USER MANUAL ATHA5050H AUDIO TECHNICA

Part names and functions

How to use headphone output terminals

How to use the control panel

Contents Thank you for purchasing this Audio-Technica product. Be sure to read this manual before using this product. Also, store this manual together with the warranty in an easily accessible location. Dedicated driver software is required in order to use this headphone amplifier. Please download the latest driver software from the website address listed under "AT-HA5050H Product Dedicated Address" on page 16 of these operating instructions. *Only for Windows users.10) Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

11) Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

12) Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or

table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

13) Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for

long periods of time.

14) Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is

required when the apparatus 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 apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this apparatus to rain or moisture. Caution: To avoid electric shock, do not open the cabinet. Refer servicing to qualified personnel only. To prevent fire, do not place any naked flame sources (such as lighted candles) on this apparatus. To prevent fire, do not cover the ventilation of this apparatus with newspapers, tablecloths, curtains, etc. Do not expose this apparatus to drips or splashes. Do not place any objects filled with liquids, such as vases, on this apparatus. Do not install this apparatus in a confined space such as a bookcase or similar unit. Install this apparatus only in a place with good ventilation. This apparatus should be located close enough to the AC outlet so that you can easily grasp the power cord plug at any time. In case of emergency, unplug the power cord of this apparatus quickly. This apparatus with Class

construction shall be connected to the AC outlet with a protective grounding connection. This apparatus is not disconnected from the mains as long as it is connected to the AC outlet, even if the unit itself has been turned off. This equipment should be placed at least 30CM away from a rear wall. This equipment should not be placed near to other electrical equipment. Keep the top, sides and rear of this equipment at least 30CM away from any other surface if sitting on shelving, such as an audio equipment rack. Failure to do so may cause this equipment to overheat which in turn may cause it or surrounding items to catch fire. The operating voltage of this equipment is factory-set and cannot be changed by the user. In order to prevent serious damage and in some cases the risk of fire, do not attempt to change the voltage of this equipment. Lightning Flash Symbol, with "The Lightning Flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "dangerous voltage" within the product enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of shock to persons". Exclamation Point Symbol, with "The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product". Important Safety Instructions

1) Read these instructions.

2) Keep these instructions.

3) Heed all warnings.

4) Follow all instructions.

5) Do not use this apparatus near water.

6) Clean only with dry cloth.

7) Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with

the manufacturer’s instructions.

8) Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat

registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9) Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type

plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet. ATTENTION Caution for FCC You are cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your authority to operate this equipment. Warning for FCC This device complies with Part 15 of the　FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the　following two conditions: (1)This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. IC statement

CAN ICES-3 (B)/NMB-3(B)●

Headphone output terminals of the product are for the use of stereo headphones only. Never connect devices other than stereo headphones.

To connect 3.5 mm stereo headphone mini plug, use an appropriate conversion plug adapter (sold separately). Please note that, depending on the shape of the conversion plug, it may be difficult to remove it from the jack.

The contact pressure of the jack of this product is designed to be a little stronger in order to improve the sound quality. It may be difficult to remove some plugs (especially small plugs that are had to grip) from the jack.

When turn on/off the power or connect headphones to this product, make sure to set volume to the minimum level. Sudden loud sound may have bad effects on hearing. Also, it may cause failure of the headphone.

Please buy a cable suitable for the device to be connected.

Fully insert the plug of the connecting cable.

Stop playback device when plugging or unplugging cables.

A vacuum tube used in this product can cause it to become hot, but this is not a malfunction.

Keep this product at least 1 m from inverter-type fluorescent lights, LED lamps, mobile telephones, Wi-Fi and other wireless devices. If you use this product near those devices, noise may be caused.

A vacuum tube is used in this product. To get sufficient sound quality, make sure to turn on the power and age it before using this product.

Before using it for the first time: at least 3 days

Before each use: at least 15 minutes Download the dedicated driver software from the AT-HA5050H product website and install it on your computer before connecting this product to a PC for the first time. Please always install the "dedicated driver software." If you connect the product to the computer before installing the driver, it may not work properly. *Only for Windows users.

For details on how to install the dedicated driver software, see the separate "Installation and Setup Manual" also on the website.

This product may not operate correctly due to the hardware or software configuration of your computer, even if the computer fulfills the "compatible operating environment" conditions which is indicated in Specifications.

Since audio data output from a computer is processed in asynchronous mode using the clock of this product, jitter caused during transmission of data can be reduced.

The files that you can download from the product website are as follows. Windows Installation manual, setup manual Mac OS Setup manual (No installation required for the dedicated driver software) Cautions

AT-HA5050H Product Dedicated Address

You can download the drivers from the product website below.

http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/atj/at_ha5050h.html The AT-HA5050H product website will be updated with the latest installation and setup information. Please check back frequently for the latest information. English17 Front panel

Power switch Push-type switch to turn the power on/off. The power is turned on by pressing the switch. The power is turned off by pressing the switch again.

Power indicator When the power is turned on, the indicator lights orange for approximately 60 seconds (standby mode). After that, the indicator lights green (operation mode). If the orange indicator does not turn green, refer to the instructions for use on page 16.

Type of digital input and sampling frequency indicator Displays the type of digital input and sampling frequency.*

• During coaxial digital (S/PDIF) input, sampling frequency may not be shown correctly, depending on the player to be connected.

Bit depth indicator Displays the bit width during USB input.

When USB is not connected The light is turned off. When USB is connected (not played)

blue During playback of 16 bit blue During playback of 24 bit/32 bit pink Displays the bit width during coaxial digital (S/PDIF) input.

When coaxial digital (S/PDF) The light is turned off. is not connected During playback of 16 bit blue During playback of 24 bit pink

Headphone output jacks Headphone terminal for 6.3 mm standard stereo jack. When used under the same conditions, two headphones can be used at the same time. The output impedance (0.1

) of an amplifi er is displayed. This is not headphone impedance.

VU meter Indicates the strength of headphone output.

• For more information, refer to "How to use a VU meter" (page 21).

Volume Used to adjust the headphone volume. To decrease or increase the volume level, turn the button toward MIN or MAX, respectively.

• When two headphones are connected to headphone terminals A and B, both are adjusted at the same time.

VU meter range selector switch Optimizes meter display based on the headphone sensitivity.

• For more information, refer to "How to use a VU meter" (page 21). Part names and functions English18 Rear panel

XLR input terminals (BALANCED) Use an XLR cable (optional) to connect to a CD player or other device equipped with XLR output terminals.

Line input terminal (LINE) Use an audio cable (optional) to connect to a CD player or amplifi er line output terminals. Jack is pin-shaped.

Input attenuator switch (ATTN) This is a -12 dB input attenuator. Use this when a large signal level is input.

USB connection mode selector switch Switches between asynchronous mode and adaptive mode. Make selection based on environment of computer to be connected.

Digital coaxial input terminal (S/PDIF) When digital input is performed, use a coaxial digital cable (optional) to connect to the device equipped with the digital output.

• Please also read instruction manual of audio device.

• Be sure to turn off the power to each device before connecting.

• The USB terminal of this product is self-powered (does not require power from a computer).

1. With reference to "Connection example", connect a computer and other devices to be used.

2. Insert the power cable into the inlet on this product and 100V AC outlet.

3. Turn on the connected devices.

4. Turn on this product. Wait until the power LED indicator turns from orange to green (about 60 seconds).

5. Select the device for playback using the input selector switch.

6. After turning down the volume on this product, connect the headphone to the headphone output terminal. For more

information on headphone impedance and headphone terminals to be used, refer to "How to use headphone output terminals."

• If a headphone is inserted or extracted with loud signal input to this product, the power indicator will turn orange temporarily and the audio will be muted. This is not a failure; it is caused by the activation of the amplifi er protection circuit. A short time later (about 60 seconds), the volume will be restored to the original volume level.* If your headphone has a 3.5 mm stereo mini plug, you will need to use a conversion plug adapter.Please note that it may be diffi cult to pull some plug adapters out of the jack. See "Cautions" on page 16.

7. Play the playback device and adjust to the desired volume level using the Volume knob on this product.

8. Adjust the volume and the VU meter range selector switch so that the VU meter's pointer is within the display range.

For more information, refer to "How to use a VU meter" (page 21).

• If you use the meter until the pointer goes off the scale, it may cause failure of the meter. Connections English Connection example20 To use 16 to 64 ohms impedance headphones: To use 100 ohms or higher impedance headphones: To use balanced armature-based earbud headphones: To use different impedance headphones and make volume levels uniform: (Connect two headphones to outputs A and B.) This product has two headphone outputs. Connect one headphone to output A, one to output B.Select and use the output terminal to your liking with reference to the following examples. Use the output terminal with

When you use the output terminal with low impedance, high-resolution, powerful sound will be produced. When you use the output terminal with high impedance, rich sound in the low-mids will be produced. Use the output terminal with the output impedance of your choice. When you use the output terminal with low impedance, high-resolution, tight sound will be produced. When you use the output terminal with high impedance, rich sound in the low-mids will be produced. When balanced armature-based earbud headphones for a single unit are used, use any output terminal of your choice. When balanced armature-based earbud headphones for two or more units are used, use the output terminal with

When an output terminal with high impedance is used, you may not get good frequency characteristics. Connect the higher impedance headphones to the output terminal with

Select the output terminal with

33 ohms output impedance, so that the volume level of the two headphones becomes the same. Since different headphones have different output sound pressure levels, you may not get the same volume level. How to use headphone output terminals Examples of use EnglishWhen set to 0 dB When set to -20 dB When set to -10 dB When set to -30 dB

The unit of measurement for a VU meter on this device is decibel (dB). To check the output power, refer to "How to read levels against the range switch" and the conversion table below.

• If you use the meter until the pointer goes off the scale, it may cause failure of the meter. How to use a VU meter -10 dB Position

-10 d B -30 dB -20 dB -40 dB 0 dB -20 dB -10 dB -30 dB 3 dB -17 dB -7 dB -27 dB English22 When the dedicated driver software is installed, the control panel is installed simultaneously.

• Compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. How to use the control panel The playback method is displayed.

To play DSD data in DoP mode: Select 24 bit or 32 bit. Detailed information during playback is displayed. When WASAPI mode is used, change the sampling frequency and the number of bits using player software. English23 Block diagram Dimensions (unit: mm) English24 Specifications Computer requirements A computer with a USB 2.0 port CPU Intel Core 2 CPU 2.2GHz above or equivalent AMD CPU RAM 32bit OS 2GB or more, 64bit OS 4GB or more Compatible OS Windows 7

Mac OS X10.9 Type Preamplifier stage: vacuum circuit Power amplifier stage: Class A bipolar transistor amplifier Compatible headphone impedance 16 ohms

Frequency response Line input 5 Hz

200 kHz (+0.5, -2 dB at 32 ohms 10 mW output) Total harmonic distortion 0.08% or less (20 Hz

32 bit PCM 384 kHz, 352.8 kHz, 192 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 96 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 32 kHz: 16 bit

32 bit Adaptive mode DSD incompatible PCM 192 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 96 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 32 kHz: 16 bit

32 bit Digital coaxial (S/PDIF) x 1 PCM 192 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 96 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 32 kHz: 16 bit

24 bit Output terminals Headphone output

DA converter Frequency response 5 Hz

20 kHz) SN ratio 113 dB (A Weighted, 1 Vrms output) Separation between channels 110 dB (20 Hz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

192 kHz, 352.8 kHz, 384 kHz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

192 kHz, 352.8 kHz, 384 kHz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

192 kHz, 352.8 kHz, 384 kHz

88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz

• 1 If you play accidentally, a loud distorted sound will be emitted.

• 2 When 16 bit is selected, playback will start without any sound being heard.