|
Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 27, 2012 21:13:31 GMT -5
So the XDA-2 sees the correct 88.2 sample rate from USB, but not when playback is from TOSLINK? Weird! I will search HD Tracks tonight for an 88.2 album that interests me. Then I'll try it out on USB for kicks, and then try it later this week when my TOSLINK adapter arrives.
|
|
|
Post by mumstead on Nov 27, 2012 22:32:14 GMT -5
I received my XDA-2 yesterday. I am also experiencing the distortion when using USB from my Macs. I have tried multiple playback programs, computers and cables but nothing has helped.
|
|
|
Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 27, 2012 23:25:34 GMT -5
Very interesting. Thanks for posting mumstead. At least I know I'm not crazy. I was starting to wonder about my sanity on Saturday and Sunday! I am not very familiar with the UAC2 drivers, but I'm wondering how the built-in Mac versions differ from the Windows version (besides the obvious OS layer). Would it be possible to use a custom third-party driver for Mac...
|
|
|
Post by goat1981 on Nov 27, 2012 23:31:54 GMT -5
Well, poop...
What do you guys think the solution for this problem is? Will Emotiva make drivers for Macs as well?
I know there are drivers in the works for PC users.
I really would like to get the USB working correctly, since it seems the only way to get the high resolution files to work in their original sampling rate.
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Nov 28, 2012 0:04:43 GMT -5
Well I alerted Keith from emo to this problem. Here is his response: Yes, thanks. The USB hardware in the XDA-2 (and the rest of the hardware) is quite stable. We have occasionally seen cases where a particular USB port simply doesn't seem to work well with the input circuitry on the XDA-2. On the few occasions we've seen this so far, simply moving the XDA-2 to a different USB port on the computer or using a different cable usually eliminates the issue. This sort of problem can also be caused by conflicts with drivers and/or configuration issues with the player program. Apple computers DO use USB Audio Class 2 drivers to talk to the XDA-2 - but, with Apple, the drivers are already part of the O/S (which is why you don't have to install them). Unfortunately, it also means we don't have much control over that side of things. As a last resort, it might be easier to switch to the Toslink optical port (which most modern Apples also have) rather than try to troubleshoot the driver issue. [/quote]
|
|
|
Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 28, 2012 1:52:18 GMT -5
Thank garbulky. At least Emotiva will know it's not a single, isolated incident. As it turns out, I have exchanged a few e-mails with Keith already. He's a great guy. Well, poop... What do you guys think the solution for this problem is? Will Emotiva make drivers for Macs as well? I know there are drivers in the works for PC users. I really would like to get the USB working correctly, since it seems the only way to get the high resolution files to work in their original sampling rate. Keith mentioned last night that the drivers for Windows 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit) would be available today (Wednesday). I plan to download both drivers and try 'em out on my PCs. Hopefully I don't get the same distortion like on the Mac. Also, hoping to load up a Linux distro either later today or Thursday. Work has been pretty heavy, so my time is limited. I still want to post some thoughts regarding performance/sound based on my primary HTPC. It's quite nice. I don't have any answers or solutions yet for our Mac USB issue. Still doing research...
|
|
|
Post by jackfish on Nov 28, 2012 9:58:14 GMT -5
MacBook Air, iTunes with BitPerfect, 0.5 meter DH Labs Silver Sonic USB cable, Schiit Bifrost USB DAC, 16 bit/44.1 kHz files and luckily I've never experienced such a glitch.
|
|
|
Post by yxmargus on Nov 28, 2012 10:17:41 GMT -5
My XDA-2 arrived yesterday. Both my Mac's - 2008 unibody Macbook and 2012 Air - are emitting strange ringing sound every 30-45 second I used iTunes and USB connection.
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Nov 28, 2012 12:00:09 GMT -5
My XDA-2 arrived yesterday. Both my Mac's - 2008 unibody Macbook and 2012 Air - are emitting strange ringing sound every 30-45 second I used iTunes and USB connection. Sorry to hear that. It looks like this is not such an isolated issue after all... I would advise calling emotiva. We've had 3 people with macbooks all report problems over USB and nobody report a success. Is there anybody that's able to play the xda-2 over an apple computer via USB WITHOUT a problem?
|
|
|
Post by goat1981 on Nov 28, 2012 13:42:42 GMT -5
I hope they find some solution to the Mac problem, since it seems several people are having a problem.
I'm not thrilled that the solution seems to be "just use TOSlink" -- it would be nice to have *all* the options. ...and USB was the way I was planning to use the XDA-2 to begin with.
|
|
|
Post by regnad on Nov 28, 2012 13:46:39 GMT -5
My XDA-2 arrived yesterday. Both my Mac's - 2008 unibody Macbook and 2012 Air - are emitting strange ringing sound every 30-45 second I used iTunes and USB connection. Sorry to hear that. It looks like this is not such an isolated issue after all... I would advise calling emotiva. We've had 3 people with macbooks all report problems over USB and nobody report a success. Is there anybody that's able to play the xda-2 over an apple computer via USB WITHOUT a problem?I am using a new MAC mini, internet radio plays fine set at 88.2k I'm using the AES for music files and all OK there, too.
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Nov 28, 2012 13:50:32 GMT -5
I hope they find some solution to the Mac problem, since it seems several people are having a problem. I'm not thrilled that the solution seems to be "just use TOSlink" -- it would be nice to have *all* the options. ...and USB was the way I was planning to use the XDA-2 to begin with. TOSLINK over mac has a max of 96khz so you wouldn't be able to do 192 khz native except via USB.
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Nov 28, 2012 13:52:02 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that. It looks like this is not such an isolated issue after all... I would advise calling emotiva. We've had 3 people with macbooks all report problems over USB and nobody report a success. Is there anybody that's able to play the xda-2 over an apple computer via USB WITHOUT a problem?I am using a new MAC mini, internet radio plays fine set at 88.2k I'm using the AES for music files and all OK there, too. Are you using USB out for this?
|
|
|
Post by goat1981 on Nov 28, 2012 13:57:17 GMT -5
I hope they find some solution to the Mac problem, since it seems several people are having a problem. I'm not thrilled that the solution seems to be "just use TOSlink" -- it would be nice to have *all* the options. ...and USB was the way I was planning to use the XDA-2 to begin with. TOSLINK over mac has a max of 96khz so you wouldn't be able to do 192 khz native except via USB. Exactly. That's why I am complaining. It's the only way to play my high res files in their native sampling rate.
|
|
|
Post by regnad on Nov 28, 2012 14:04:02 GMT -5
I am using a new MAC mini, internet radio plays fine set at 88.2k I'm using the AES for music files and all OK there, too. Are you using USB out for this? Yes (that was the question). I just switched the SPDIF out in the Audio Manager through all the sample rates from 44k to 192k. In all cases, it worked fine and the XDA-2 displayed the correct rate. Weird how it shows all these USB selections when the XDA-2 is connected but no specific XDA-2 label, I guess it is being seen as some generic USB device...
|
|
|
Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 28, 2012 14:07:04 GMT -5
I am using a new MAC mini, internet radio plays fine set at 88.2k I'm using the AES for music files and all OK there, too. Are you using USB out for this? regnad, assuming you are using USB, can you try a sample rate other than 88.2 or 176.4? Strangely, I did not have any distortion/ringing/screeching when I forced sampling rates to either 88.2 or 176.4. However, every other sample rate (44.1, 48, 96, 192) had problems whether native or up-sampled. I doubt the native sample rate of the streaming internet radio is 88.2. Can you try either 44.1, 48, 96, or 192 sample rates and let us know if you get Bad Things (tm)?
|
|
|
Post by Dark Ranger on Nov 28, 2012 14:08:57 GMT -5
regnad,
I just saw your recent post, thanks. For what it's worth, I have not experienced the issues when using digital coax or TOSLINK, only USB with Mac.
OK, you say you have a NEW Mac Mini. Interesting. I wonder if the brand new Macs are using a different driver. One would think that a UAC2 driver is a UAC2 driver.
I also recall RightinLA uses a Mac with an XDA-2 and AirMotivs. I will contact him today and see if he has any issues, and if not, what age his Mac is.
|
|
|
Post by regnad on Nov 28, 2012 14:14:45 GMT -5
Internet radio (radioio and Pandora) all OK at ALL rates
Itunes is the same, I switched the rates while music was playing and only had a brief (1 second) interruption.
|
|
KeithL
Administrator
Posts: 9,958
|
Post by KeithL on Nov 28, 2012 16:44:05 GMT -5
With Windows 7, and many versions of the Apple O/S, all files you play are automatically re-sampled to a single sample rate (you get to configure it - on the Mac it is under "Midi settings"). You will need to get a player program that supports "bit perfect playback" to override this..... On the PC, FooBar2000 and jRiver Media Center are probably the favorites (FooBar is free). I don't know which would be the preferred ones for a Mac (there are several). Depending on your hardware, some players have trouble playing high-bit-rate files, and this can cause them to occasionally make odd noises. We have also received a few reports of "a screeching noise" that turned out to be related to the specific USB port used. On many PCs, the front panel USB ports usually aren't as "good" as the rear-panel ones (they pass through an extra internal hub). So, using a different USB port or cable might eliminate it, or plugging straight into the computer if you're currently using a hub. If you're using an "audiophile USB cable", replace it with a good cheap one - that fully meets the USB 2.0 spec. Many people consider the optical port on Apples to be the preferred connection method anyway - and it should support up to 96k (at least) when your software is configured to do so. 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!!
|
|
KeithL
Administrator
Posts: 9,958
|
Post by KeithL on Nov 28, 2012 17:23:32 GMT -5
We (and everyone else) use drivers for UAC2 (USB Audio Class 2) on PCs because there are no internal UAC2 drivers provided by Windows (and, as far as we know, Microsoft has no plans to provide any). That gives us some control over what's going on. Because Apple DOES provide UAC2 drivers in their O/S, I've also never heard of any third-party UAC2 drivers for Apple computers. On the PC, some player programs override the O/S for settings and sample-rate control, but every one I am aware of still runs through the driver. I assume that, similarly, all player programs on the Apple run through their UAC2 driver. Many player programs also have issues that result in their occasionally making odd noises - usually associated with complex filters and high-sample-rate files that simply overload the processor - although the symptoms are usually slightly different when that happens. In my experience, when player programs screw up, they usually don't make odd noises for a few seconds and then recover; they start sounding funny and continue to do so indefinitely or stop running entirely (in those situations, stopping and restarting the player is the only thing that helps and, if the processor simply isn't up to the task, the problem happens repeatedly...) And the only eventual solution is to choose a different player program (or get a faster computer) - or use a different type of connection (like Toslink of S/PDIF). This problem (where the sounds occur for several seconds every few minutes, and the music plays properly in between), is different, and appears to be related to the timing on the computer's USB port. We are working to replicate and solve this issue. Unfortunately, since we can't "get inside" the Apple drivers or O/S, I can't promise that we will be able to come up with a 100% effective solution that works for all machines. I can promise that we will do our best. I am using a new MAC mini, internet radio plays fine set at 88.2k I'm using the AES for music files and all OK there, too. Are you using USB out for this? regnad, assuming you are using USB, can you try a sample rate other than 88.2 or 176.4? Strangely, I did not have any distortion/ringing/screeching when I forced sampling rates to either 88.2 or 176.4. However, every other sample rate (44.1, 48, 96, 192) had problems whether native or up-sampled. I doubt the native sample rate of the streaming internet radio is 88.2. Can you try either 44.1, 48, 96, or 192 sample rates and let us know if you get Bad Things (tm)?
|
|