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Post by goat1981 on Nov 27, 2012 14:21:56 GMT -5
Hello, everybody. My XDA-2 came in today, but I am having a couple issues. Please forgive me...but I am pretty new to digital audio, so if I ask silly questions, you'll know why.  First, I am using my macbook (13'', not the pro...the 1st aluminum macbook) as a source when I try to play 'high resolution' files. I usually use my CD player, but I wanted to download some things on HDtracks. I am using "Decibel" as my player. When I use the optical out (the 1/8 inch headphone jack doubles as optical out on the macbook), I can't get the sample rate to be anything but 44.1K, even when I play the high-resolution files. Does the optical out only support 44.1K? Furthermore (and more alarming...), when I used USB out (I didn't install any new drivers or anything...), the sample rate was read correctly (96K), but it really didn't sound right (not very clear, and with a compressed soundstage). After a few seconds of playing, an extraneous sound came through the speakers that scared me to death -- a noisy high pitch sound that gradually decreased in pitch. Needless to say, I turned down volume on the preamplifier immediately. Maybe it is Decibel's fault? I have heard nothing but good things about this software....but I don't know? Or, could it be that I don't have the correct drivers for the USB (I know there is an issue here...). And I am unsure why I can't get anything but 44.1K sampling when I use the optical out. ....and the random noise really freaked me out. Any help would be very much appreciated!!  |
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Post by garbulky on Nov 27, 2012 14:27:48 GMT -5
Interesting. Somebody else had problems with the sudden distortion on sounds.
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Post by GreenKiwi on Nov 27, 2012 15:04:11 GMT -5
You might try iTunes and bitperfect.
Also if you open up Audio midi setup you should be able to see more controls.
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Post by goat1981 on Nov 27, 2012 15:27:18 GMT -5
Interesting. Somebody else had problems with the sudden distortion on sounds. Weird... This was more than distortion -- it sounded like a jet plane landing (except not as loud, luckily). ... It must be something with my system setup. I'll wait for more responses, and then may try iTunes with bit perfect.... or any other suggestions. Thanks guys. |
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Post by creimes on Nov 27, 2012 15:36:34 GMT -5
You can go to the midi settings and change the output resolution up to 24/192 for optical out, at least on my Mac Mini I can. You have to get to the Midi setup to adjust the settings support.apple.com/kb/PH5176 |
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Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 27, 2012 16:07:55 GMT -5
Hi goat, You'll have to go to your MIDI options (Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup) and make sure the mini optical output is configured for the maximum bit-depth and sample rate for the built-in optical out. When using USB, check the "SPDIF Output" settings which should appear when the XDA-2 is plugged in. You can set this to 24/192 since the XDA-2 USB input supports high-res formats. Regarding the distortion you heard, I also experienced screeching and distortion on many tracks. This occurs when using USB from my MacBook Pro (Late 2011 model) to the XDA-2. I have been working with Emotiva and have let them know about this issue. I have tried two different Macs, different cables, different sample rates, and different players. This happened in every player including iTunes, VLC, Decibel, and Audirvana Plus. I also tried both bit-perfect output and forced up-sampling. Here is a 1 MB recorded MP3 of the screeching that I recorded (track is 27 seconds long, distortion starts at 16 seconds): Does your noise sound like this? I also made a spectrogram plot of the distortion. As you can see, the distortion is most intense around 8 kHz and 16 kHz (the yellow and red double tracks). While my 16/44, 16/48, and 24/96 tracks exhibit this issue, strangely, my 24/88.2 and 24/176.4 tracks are fine (or any tracks up-sampled to these rates). I don't own any 24/192 tracks, but if the file is up-sampled to this rate, I also get the same issue. I am still troubleshooting and testing and will pass on any solutions I find. So far, the only workaround I've found is to force playback in 24/88.2 or 24/176.4 via Audirvana Plus. Again, this issue is only with USB on the Mac. My TOSLINK connection from Windows PC is fine. No issues. I will order a mini optical adapter for the Mac so I can try the built-in optical output as a possible replacement for USB. |
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Post by garbulky on Nov 27, 2012 16:21:59 GMT -5
I hope this isn't going to be a case of poor product testing with Macs...
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Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 27, 2012 17:01:08 GMT -5
Let me add that based on my communication with Emotiva support so far, they said they had not encountered this problem with their Macs (or PCs) running at these sample rates via USB.
I am not giving up on this just yet. Sure, I could use TOSLINK from the Mac, but one of the reasons I bought the XDA-2 was for the high-res USB port. If my devices have problems using USB, then it's kind of pointless. TOSLINK from my PC works superbly, no issues whatsoever. Of course USB on PC doesn't work yet, but I will be very interested if I have the same problem. I highly doubt I will since Emotiva will be supplying a custom driver, versus the built-in UAC2 driver for Mac.
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Post by shadowlight on Nov 27, 2012 17:14:41 GMT -5
I am suppose to get the dac on Thursday and I will test it with Linux based system with usb.
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Post by rohrej on Nov 27, 2012 17:28:13 GMT -5
Just got my XDA-2 connected to my Mac via USB and it also outputs a distorted chiming/screech. In my case it happens after about 45 seconds and only when playing 16/44.1. If I force the output to any other format I don't get the distortion. Behavior is the same weather or not SRC bypass is enabled.
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Post by shadowlight on Nov 27, 2012 17:29:39 GMT -5
Ok, I looked at the message posted by Keith in the other xda2 thread about the chips being used for usb which is the same one used in Bifrost Dac. I remember reading about similar issue with Mac and Bifrost usb playback in the thread on head-find. Will search for it and when I get home.
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Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 27, 2012 17:30:05 GMT -5
I am suppose to get the dac on Thursday and I will test it with Linux based system with usb. That's a good idea. I may try it on Ubuntu or Mint. I'd be interested in your findings. EDIT: just saw rohrej and shadowlight's posts. Interesting... Just got my XDA-2 connected to my Mac via USB and it also outputs a distorted chiming/screech. In my case it happens after about 45 seconds and only when playing 16/44.1. If I force the output to any other format I don't get the distortion. Behavior is the same weather or not SRC bypass is enabled. rohrej, what is the age and model of your Mac and which OS X are you running? Mine is a Late 2011 MacBook Pro running the latest build of Mountain Lion. |
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Post by shadowlight on Nov 27, 2012 17:45:26 GMT -5
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Post by shadowlight on Nov 27, 2012 17:48:07 GMT -5
Dark Ranger will start building the Linus laptop tonight and will post my findings once I get a change to test.
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Post by garbulky on Nov 27, 2012 17:57:29 GMT -5
Dark ranger: I agree it sounds very similar.
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Post by rohrej on Nov 27, 2012 18:27:51 GMT -5
EDIT: just saw rohrej and shadowlight's posts. Interesting... rohrej, what is the age and model of your Mac and which OS X are you running? Mine is a Late 2011 MacBook Pro running the latest build of Mountain Lion. Mine is a spring 2011 MBP 17" (Model ID 8,2), also running the latest release of Mountain Lion (10.8.2) I've emailed support, so we'll see what they say. |
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Post by goat1981 on Nov 27, 2012 19:36:03 GMT -5
Hi goat, You'll have to go to your MIDI options (Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup) and make sure the mini optical output is configured for the maximum bit-depth and sample rate for the built-in optical out. When using USB, check the "SPDIF Output" settings which should appear when the XDA-2 is plugged in. You can set this to 24/192 since the XDA-2 USB input supports high-res formats. Regarding the distortion you heard, I also experienced screeching and distortion on many tracks. This occurs when using USB from my MacBook Pro (Late 2011 model) to the XDA-2. I have been working with Emotiva and have let them know about this issue. I have tried two different Macs, different cables, different sample rates, and different players. This happened in every player including iTunes, VLC, Decibel, and Audirvana Plus. I also tried both bit-perfect output and forced up-sampling. Here is a 1 MB recorded MP3 of the screeching that I recorded (track is 27 seconds long, distortion starts at 16 seconds): Does your noise sound like this? I also made a spectrogram plot of the distortion. As you can see, the distortion is most intense around 8 kHz and 16 kHz (the yellow and red double tracks). While my 16/44, 16/48, and 24/96 tracks exhibit this issue, strangely, my 24/88.2 and 24/176.4 tracks are fine (or any tracks up-sampled to these rates). I don't own any 24/192 tracks, but if the file is up-sampled to this rate, I also get the same issue. I am still troubleshooting and testing and will pass on any solutions I find. So far, the only workaround I've found is to force playback in 24/88.2 or 24/176.4 via Audirvana Plus. Again, this issue is only with USB on the Mac. My TOSLINK connection from Windows PC is fine. No issues. I will order a mini optical adapter for the Mac so I can try the built-in optical output as a possible replacement for USB. Yes, the sound is similar to that on my system. However, it was more sustained on the track I was playing. It doesn't happen with the TOSLINK connection. However, I still can't get it to output my high resolution files at their proper sampling rate. The maximum sampling I can set in the Audio Midi setup is 96Khz / 24 Bit. Is this because I have an older macbook? It outputs 96Khz when I play a 96Khz file. However, when I play my 88.2Khz files, it reads "44.1Khz" on the XDA-2.  I have no problem using the TOSLINK connections...but I would like to be able to get the full resolution if possible. Does anyone know why my maximum is 96Khz (seems like others have the option for 192Khz) and why when I play a 88.2Khz file, it reads "44.1Khz" on my XDA-2? Thanks in advance. |
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Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 27, 2012 20:02:49 GMT -5
It doesn't happen with the TOSLINK connection. However, I still can't get it to output my high resolution files at their proper sampling rate. The maximum sampling I can set in the Audio Midi setup is 96Khz / 24 Bit. Is this because I have an older macbook? It outputs 96Khz when I play a 96Khz file. However, when I play my 88.2Khz files, it reads "44.1Khz" on the XDA-2. For a long while, the optical output on Macs was limited to 24/96. That is likely the reason you can't output anything higher. That said, I've heard some of the new Macs have 24/192 capability via optical out. That is part of the appeal of a USB DAC for Macs. We know they were/are limited to 24/96 via TOSLINK, so the workaround is using USB. However, in this case, the distorted audio makes it difficult to listen with a USB connection. |
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Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 27, 2012 20:12:26 GMT -5
...why when I play a 88.2Khz file, it reads "44.1Khz" on my XDA-2? Hmm, that is a strange one. You are using Decibel, yeah? I don't have any native 88.2 files, although I could jump over to HD Tracks and grab one. But you're using optical out, right? I don't have the mini TOSLINK adapter yet to test this and could only play them via USB (which doesn't help you). Grr. EDIT: let me fire up my Mac and look at the Decibel options. It sounds like it's down-sampling from 88.2 to 44.1. ------------- EDIT 2: OK, open your Preferences in Decibel. Under General, do you have "Adjust sample rate for best quality" checked or unchecked? If unchecked, try enabling that option. It is supposed to set the device sample rate to match that of the playing track. |
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Post by goat1981 on Nov 27, 2012 20:40:40 GMT -5
...why when I play a 88.2Khz file, it reads "44.1Khz" on my XDA-2? Hmm, that is a strange one. You are using Decibel, yeah? I don't have any native 88.2 files, although I could jump over to HD Tracks and grab one. But you're using optical out, right? I don't have the mini TOSLINK adapter yet to test this and could only play them via USB (which doesn't help you). Grr. EDIT: let me fire up my Mac and look at the Decibel options. It sounds like it's down-sampling from 88.2 to 44.1. ------------- EDIT 2: OK, open your Preferences in Decibel. Under General, do you have "Adjust sample rate for best quality" checked or unchecked? If unchecked, try enabling that option. It is supposed to set the device sample rate to match that of the playing track. Thanks for looking into this for me. I do have "adjust sample rate for best quality" checked. It will play the 96Khz files, but the 88.2's read as 44.1. Maybe Decibel doesn't like 88.2Khz files? ...so confusing. However, when I went to USB, it would read 88.2Khz. ...but the sound isn't right (the original random ringing sound). lol -- hopefully the USB issue can be resolved soon. |
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