background image

power will be drawn from the computer port. If running in High Power mode and the power supply
is disconnected, the m9XX will reboot. 

Below is a summary of all of the powering and signal input configurations:

1.

Low Power, USB input:

 One USB cable from the computer to the m9XX #1 USB input. 

m9XX receives power and audio from the computer.

2.

High Power, USB input:

 One USB cable from the computer to the m9XX #1 USB input and 

one USB cable from the external 2A DC power supply to the m9XX #2 high power DC input 
connector. The m9XX receives audio from the computer and receives power from the 
external DC supply.

3.

Low Power, TOSLINK input: 

One USB cable from a standard USB power source (computer 

or 0.5A USB power supply) connected to the m9XX #1 USB input. TOSLINK optical cable 
connected to the TOSLINK input. (This would be an unusual setup where you don't have 
access to a high power DC power supply.)

4.

High Power, TOSLINK input: 

One USB cable from the 2A DC power supply to the m9XX #2 

high power DC input connector. TOSLINK optical cable connected to the TOSLINK input. 
m9XX receives audio from TOSLINK and power from the external DC supply.

5.

Self Powered Mode: 

This mode is for connecting your mobile device (iOS, android) to the 

m9XX. Mobile devices generally cannot provide any power. In this mode the m9XX will 
report that it is self powered. To enter self powered mode, first connect the USB cable from 
the external 2A DC power supply to the m9XX #2 high power DC input connector, then 
connect your device to the m9XX #1 USB input. For iOS, you will need the 'Apple Lightning 
to USB Camera Adapter', for supported Android devices you will need an 'On The Go' USB 
cable.

Connecting Headphones

There are 2 ¼” headphone output jacks on the front, which are wired in parallel. The second jack on 
the right is a switched type. If you have the line outputs connected to a power amp or powered 
monitors, connecting headphones to this jack will automatically mute the line outputs, allowing 
you to effectively ‘toggle’ between the headphone and speaker outputs.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

 

The m9XX has very low output impedance, measuring around 0.08 Ohms. 

Ohm's law states that as the load impedance approaches 0 Ohms, even a small voltage will result in
high current flow. When a headphone plug is inserted in to the headphone jack of any headphone 
amplifier, there is a brief moment when the output of the amplifier gets shorted to ground. If there 
is music playing when this happens, there will be high current flow which will likely cause the 

Page 6 of 15

Summary of Contents for M9XX

Page 1: ...m9XX Audiophile Headphone Amp DAC Owner s Manual Revision E 11 06 2015 Grace Design Lunatec LLC 4689 Ute Highway Longmont CO 80503 info gracedesign com www gracedesign com 1 303 823 8100 Page 1 of 15 ...

Page 2: ...ent LED 5 Volume Control top panel 5 Operation 5 Unpacking Your m9XX 5 Setting Up Your m9XX 5 Powering Up Your m9XX 5 Connecting Headphones 6 Line Output Operation 7 Volume and Mute Control 7 Crossfeed Circuitry 7 Computer Configuration 8 Installing the Windows USB driver 9 Using the Setup Menu 11 Navigating the Setup Menu 11 Setup Menu Items 11 Specifications 14 Cleaning and Maintenance 15 Warran...

Page 3: ... few operational concepts that are helpful to understand We encourage you to read this manual thoroughly to familiarize yourself with the unit so you can use and enjoy it to its fullest extent If you have any questions please visit our website for more information www gracedesign com or feel free to call us directly at 1 303 823 8100 We d love to hear from you Page 3 of 15 m9XX TOSLINK L R 5 0V 2A...

Page 4: ...er supply is plugged into this input the m9XX will enter High Power mode indicated by HP on the 7 segment display TOSLINK Optical Input Accepts up to 96kHz 24 bit PCM digital audio signal Automatic de emphasis equalization The m9XX setup menu contains an input select option that toggles between the USB input or the TOSLINK input See the Setup Menu section in this manual for more setup information ...

Page 5: ...igned to sit on your desktop or atop your audio center Its small low profile stature easily fits on any desk or media center furniture Put your unit wherever you like as long as it s within reach The top mounted volume control will sit comfortably under your hand whenever you need to control your system volume quickly mute or change settings Headphone jacks are on the front and inputs and line out...

Page 6: ...s mode is for connecting your mobile device iOS android to the m9XX Mobile devices generally cannot provide any power In this mode the m9XX will report that it is self powered To enter self powered mode first connect the USB cable from the external 2A DC power supply to the m9XX 2 high power DC input connector then connect your device to the m9XX 1 USB input For iOS you will need the Apple Lightni...

Page 7: ...gnal feeding the rear panel line out jacks is normalled through the right hand headphone jack This is so that if you have speakers connected to the line outputs they will mute when you plug headphones into the right hand jack If you want to hear speakers and headphones at the same time simply use the left hand jack Note that the crossfeed circuit feeds these connectors When listening to loudspeake...

Page 8: ...ency response characteristics of the head the crossfeed circuitry in the m9XX gives the brain some of the basic clues it needs and the result is a very pleasing simulation of an acoustic space while maintaining the tonality and balance of the original source Computer Configuration The m9XX computer audio connection is an asynchronous USB interface With asynchronous mode USB operation the m9XX USB ...

Page 9: ...he information pertaining to your specific OS In the event that you have any setup issues which aren t addressed by these resources feel from to contact us directly at 303 823 8100 M Friday 9 5 MST or you can email our service department service gracedesign com Installing the Windows USB driver To download the Windows driver visit our support page http www gracedesign com support support htm Under...

Page 10: ... install 4 Success 5 Connect your m9XX 6 Ready to go In USB 1 mode the m9XX will show up in the OS playback device dialog as m9XX In USB 2 mode the m9XX will show up in the OS playback device dialog as XMOS USB Audio Page 10 of 15 ...

Page 11: ...on all outputs In the Setup Menu push and release the encoder to activate deactivate crossfeed Decimal points on indicate that crossfeed is active Crossfeed OFF Crossfeed ON INPUT SOURCE SELECT Toggles between the 2 available audio inputs USB or TOSLINK In the Setup Menu push and release the encoder to select input source USB input TOSLINK input DISPLAY DIMMER MODE Turns off 7 segment display afte...

Page 12: ...y high levels of treble Will have very low levels of ringing before and after transients but is susceptible to distortion artifacts caused by high amplitude high frequency information in the program material sharp roll off minimum phase Not linear phase in the pass band Fast roll off protects against aliasing distortion from high amplitude high frequency content Best for recordings that are loud c...

Page 13: ...layed for briefly and change to indicate the incoming sample rate 44 1 kHz 48 kHz 88 2 kHz 96 kHz Because the m9XX s display is only 2 characters the higher sample rates are abbreviated as 17 176kHz 19 192kHz 35 354kHz 38 384kHz DSD rates are shown as d1 DSD64 d2 DSD128 Page 13 of 15 ...

Page 14: ...dB 0 5dB steps ChannelTracking Accuracy 0 05dB Maximum OutputLevel No load Low Power Mode 14 1dBV 5 1V High Power Mode Impedances Headphone Output 0 08 Ohms Line Output 47 5 Ohms InputLockRange TOSLINK 44 1kHz 400Hz 48kHz 700Hz 88 2kHz 1200Hz 96kHz 1300Hz USB 44 1 48 88 2 96 176 4 192 352 8 384kHz PowerConsumption Max High Power mode 8 0W Max Low Power mode 2 5W Dimensions 4 x 5 25 x 1 8 Headphone...

Page 15: ...fective workmanship without charge provided the customer has appropriate proof of purchase and that the product has its original factory serial number In order for Grace Design to provide efficient and timely warranty service it is important that you mail the completed warranty registration card enclosed with all of our products within 10 days of the original date of purchase You may also register...

Reviews: