SPL Mercury Mastering D/A Converter (All Black) - Manual (Page 12)

10
Cabling: Rear Side
1 USB
A computer can be connected to the USB port [USB 2.0, Type B, Female]. Two-channel PCM
andDSDaudioformatscanbesentviathisUSBconnection.Sampleratesupto768kHz
are supported for PCM audio and up to DSD4 (quad-rate DSD or DSD256) for DSD audio.
No special driver is required for an Apple Mac, as Apple natively supports USB class 2 up
toasamplingrateof768kHz.
To use Mercury to its full extent on a Windows PC, the SPL Mercury driver should be instal-
led. This can be downloaded from the product website https://mercury.spl.audio
With this driver, higher sampling rates than 44.1kHz and 48kHz can be output on a
Windows PC.
2 Optical 1 and Optical 2 (TOSLINK)
Mercury has two optical inputs, each capable of managing a two-channel signal. Both
optical inputs are designed exactly the same and have the same specifications according
to the IEC 60958 Type II ‚Optical‘ standard. The input jack is an F05 jack. Optical fiber cab-
lesareusedforsignaltransmission.Thisinterfacesupportssamplingratesupto192kHz
for encoded PCM audio. The bit rate of the sampled values can range from 16 bits to 24
bits. This interface is better known under the Toshiba brand name TOSLINK.
Our tip: You should attach importance to the quality of the optical fiber. With inexpensive
plasticopticalfibers,transmissionswithfourfoldsamplingrates(176.4kHz/192kHz)may
have faults. In this case a real fiber optic cable should be chosen.
3 Coaxial 1 and Coaxial 2 (S/P-DIF)
The two inputs Coaxial 1 and Coaxial 2 can also each receive a two-channel signal (PCM
audio)withsamplingratesupto192kHzandabitrateof16bitsto24bits.Bothinputs
have the same design and specifications, according to the IEC 60958 Type II standard.
Unbalanced, 2-wire 75-Ohm coaxial cables with RCA connectors are used for signal trans-
mission. This interface is better known as „S/P-DIF“ (Sony/Philips Digital Interface).
4 AES 1
Mercury provides two AES/EBU inputs. An AES signal can transport two encoded PCM
audiochannelswithamaximumsamplingrateof192kHzandabitrateof16bitsto
24 bits. This standard is defined under IEC 60958 Type I. The input AES 1 has an input
jack which corresponds to a standard XLR input (XLR, female). Balanced, 3-core, 110 Ohm
„twisted pair“ cables with XLR plugs are used for connection.