Connecting and playing back from a computer (USB-DAC)

You can enjoy high-quality audio playback from the D/A converter built in to this unit by inputting music files into this unit from a computer via USB connection.

Before USB connecting this unit to your computer, install the driver software in your computer.

Drivers do not need to be installed for macOS.

Also, you can use whichever commercially available or downloadable player software you like to playback files on your computer.

Computer (system requirements)

OS

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10

macOS 10.12, 10.13 or 10.14

USB

USB 2.0: USB High speed/USB Audio Class Ver. 2.0

NOTE

This unit was checked the operation using the system requirements by us, but it does not guarantee the operation of all systems.

Installing the dedicated driver(Windows OS only)

Disconnect the USB cable between your PC and the unit.

The driver software cannot be installed correctly if your PC is connected to the unit by a USB cable.

If the unit and your computer are connected by a USB cable and the computer is switched on before installation, disconnect the USB and restart the computer.

Download the dedicated driver from the “Download” section of the SA-12 SE page of the Marantz website onto your PC.
Unzip the downloaded file, and double-click the exe file.
Install the driver.
Select the language to use for the installation.
Click “OK”.
Installer Marantz Eng 1 win10
The wizard menu is displayed. Click “Next”.
Installer Marantz Eng 2 win10
Read the Software Licensing Agreement, and click “I accept the terms of the License Agreement”.
Click “Next”.
Installer Marantz Eng 3 win10
Click “Install” on the installation start dialog.

The installation starts. Do not perform any operation on the PC until the installation is completed.

Installer Marantz Eng 4 win10
Click “Next”.
Installer Marantz Eng 5 win10
When the installation is completed, click “Finish”.
Installer Marantz Eng 6 win10
Click “Yes”.
Installer Marantz 7 win10
With the unit power off, connect the unit and PC using a USB cable (sold separately).

For the connection procedure, refer to the “Connecting a PC or Mac” section. link

Press the main unit’s Power Button .

When the unit power is turned on, the PC automatically finds and connects to the unit.

Press DISC/INPUT to switch the playback media mode to “USB-DAC”.
Checking the installed driver.
Click the “Start” button and click “Control Panel” on the PC.

The control panel setting list is displayed.

Click “Sound”.

The sound menu window is displayed.

Check that there is a checkmark next to “Default Device” under in “SA-KI RUBY/SA-12” of the “Playback” tab.

When there is a checkmark for a different device, click “SA-KI RUBY/SA-12” and “Set Default”.

Checking audio output.

Outputs a TEST signal from the PC and checks the audio output from the USB-DAC function.

Select “SA-KI RUBY/SA-12” and click “Properties”.

The Properties window is displayed.

Windows setting 1 SA12SE win10
Click the “Advanced” tab.
Select the sampling rate and bit rate to be applied to the D/A converter.

It is recommended that “2 channel, 24 bit, 192000 Hz (Studio Quality)” is selected (Windows 7).

It is recommended that “2 channel, 32 bit, 192000 Hz (Studio Quality)” is selected (Windows 8/Windows 8.1/Windows 10).

Click “Apply”.
Click “Test”.

Check that audio from this unit is output from the PC.

Windows setting 2 win10
NOTE

The dedicated driver must be installed in the PC before this unit is connected to a PC. Operation will not occur correctly if connected to the PC before the dedicated driver has been installed.

Player software supporting the Audio Stream Input Output (ASIO) driver is required to play files with a sampling frequency of 352.8 kHz/384 kHz without downsampling. Check your player software before playing files with the ASIO driver.

Operation may fail in some PC hardware and software configurations.

Please see the FAQ at www.marantz.com if you experience any issues getting audio to play from your computer through this unit. You may also want to check the support pages for your audio player application.

Audio device settings (macOS only)

With the unit power off, connect the unit and Mac using a USB cable (sold separately).

For the connection procedure, refer to the “Connecting a PC or Mac” section. link

Press the main unit’s Power Button .
Press DISC/INPUT to switch the playback media mode to “USB-DAC”.
Move the cursor to “Go” on the computer screen, and then click “Utilities”.

The utility list is displayed.

Double-click “Audio MIDI Setup”.

The “Audio Devices” window is displayed.

Check that “Use this device for sound output” is checked in “SA-KI RUBY/SA-12”.

If a different device is checked, select and “Secondary click” on “SA-KI RUBY/SA-12”, and then select “Use this device for sound output”.

MacOS setting 1 SA12SE ope6
Select the “SA-KI RUBY/SA-12” format.

It is normally recommended to set the format to “384000.0 Hz” and “2ch-32 bit Interger”.

MacOS setting 2 SA12SE ope7
Quit Audio MIDI Setup.

Playback

Install the desired player software on your computer beforehand.

Use the rear panel USB-DAC port to connect this unit to a computer. link

Press DISC/INPUT to switch the playback media mode to “USB-DAC”.

Start playback on the computer’s player software.

The digital audio signal that is being input is shown as follows in the display.

When a linear PCM signal is input

Bracket Open Example Bracket Close PCM176.4k/24

Files are displayed in order of sampling frequency and bit length.

The displayed bit length is the bit count at the time the audio signal is input from the computer to the D/A converter of this unit.

When a DSD signal is input

Bracket Open Example Bracket Close DSD 11.2M

Only the sampling frequency is displayed when a DSD signal is input.

If the sampling frequency cannot be detected, “Unlock” will be displayed.

“Unsupported” is displayed when audio signals that are not supported by this unit are input.

Audio signals that can be played back

NOTE

Perform operations such as playback and pause on the computer. At this time, you cannot perform operations with buttons on this unit or the remote control.

When this unit is functioning as a D/A converter, sound is not output from the computer’s speakers.

If the computer is disconnected from this unit while the computer music playback software is running, the playback software may freeze. Always exit the playback software before disconnecting the computer.

When an error occurs on the computer, disconnect the USB cable and restart the computer.

The sampling frequency/bit length of the music playback software and sampling frequency/bit length displayed on this unit may differ.

Use a cable that is 3 m or less to connect to the computer.

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