honie
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Post by honie on Nov 18, 2015 7:25:29 GMT -5
Hi ,
I connect a Soundcard: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB directly to a XPA5 Amplifier via Chinch unbalanced,
but when a signal is coming to the amplifier the LED turns from blue to red and is blinking.
I want to use this soundcard as an "Precessor", but the signal seems not compatible with the XPA5.
So can someone explain it to me, why it does not work? Or should it work?
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geebo
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Post by geebo on Nov 18, 2015 7:47:08 GMT -5
Hi , I connect a Soundcard: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB directly to a XPA5 Amplifier via Chinch unbalanced, but when a signal is coming to the amplifier the LED turns from blue to red and is blinking. I want to use this soundcard as an "Precessor", but the signal seems not compatible with the XPA5. So can someone explain it to me, why it does not work? Or should it work? Just grabbing at straws but was the volume on the X-Fi turned all the way down when you started? I think it would be best to start with the volume at minimum and then slowly increase it. |
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 18, 2015 8:04:16 GMT -5
Are all 5 channel's lights going red? Those typically only go one at a time and it is typically a cable issue...switching cables fixes it typically. But if all 5 are red, there might be a soundcard issue.
Mark
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honie
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Post by honie on Nov 18, 2015 9:14:07 GMT -5
I set the volume to just 5%.
The LED at the power button turns from blue to blinking red - there is only one LED. I do not mean the channel LEDs.
With no sound playing, I already can hear some noises from the Speakers, like it is when the volume is set to extremly loud.
So maybe the chinch Output of the Soundblaster is not compatible with the unbalanced Input of the XPA?
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Post by garbulky on Nov 18, 2015 9:28:12 GMT -5
Hi there. The soundblaster is perfectly compatible. I hope you are using the LINE OUT's. Not the optical, the microphone, line in or mic in or headphone. I am not sure what you mean by chinch output. Which ones have you connected from the picture?  Make sure the switch on the XPA-5 is flipped to unbalanced. Then connect only the left (white) channel and see if you have a problem. If you do it likely means one of a few things 1. Your speaker cables have a short or some of the bare ends are touching each other at the amp side or at the speaker side. Take the speaker cables of and connect only one speaker to one amp. This should be the one that matches the input jack you connected it to. 2. Your left channel wire has a short. Use a different wire to the left channel and try again. If these don't work... The rare possiblity is that your XPA-5 has a problem.... If the XPA-5 works fine with connecting just one wire. It means there was a problem with either the other wires you used. Or that you didn't connect them very tightly. |
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honie
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Post by honie on Nov 18, 2015 10:10:17 GMT -5
I use the white left and red right chinch Line Outs from the above picture.
I will examine cable by cable in about 2 hours, when I'm back home.
Thank you all - for your fast help!
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 18, 2015 10:32:06 GMT -5
I set the volume to just 5%. The LED at the power button turns from blue to blinking red - there is only one LED. I do not mean the channel LEDs. With no sound playing, I already can hear some noises from the Speakers, like it is when the volume is set to extremly loud. So maybe the chinch Output of the Soundblaster is not compatible with the unbalanced Input of the XPA? I have never seen the power button blink red, and I don't see that listed in the manual. Unusual. I would disconnect the speakers and cinch cables. Try a single cinch/RCA cable from either the Left or Right output from your soundblaster to any one of the amp channels. Us a different RCA/cinch cable if possible. If all is fine, the one by one start connect all the channels from the soundblaster to the amp. If it trips after you plug a particular one in...you have found the problem. If all is fine with all RCA's connected (but no speakers connected), then you know the soundblaster and the cinch cables are fine. Then, 1 by one, start connecting speaker cables. If the problem appears as you do this - you have found the problem. Mark |
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honie
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Post by honie on Nov 19, 2015 5:06:43 GMT -5
Hello - thanks all for your fast help.
I think it was a cable issue / shortage.
I unplug all cables and plug them in step by step and
test every step, so the behaviour vanished.
Over the Weekend I will get the other Speakers, so I can test then all 6 and not only the fronts.
But so far it works like it should do...
Just one Thing: from the Front Left (The terminal most right to the power supply on the XPA-5, looking from behind) I can
hear always a noisy murmur from this channel when it should be quiet. When I Switch to Balance (without a cable connected)
it is quieter - but still there.
On the Front right Channel it is much more quiet - but you can still hear it.
It is not that disturbing, but not nice... ;-)
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hemster
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Post by hemster on Nov 19, 2015 6:22:29 GMT -5
Is the murmur present with no cables connected to the speaker terminals?
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Nov 19, 2015 6:28:40 GMT -5
And what does it sound like...a buzz, a hum, something else? Can you posts a video of the sound?
Mark
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Post by vcautokid on Nov 19, 2015 9:14:10 GMT -5
Computers can be harbingers of noise and DC offset when sending to a power amplifier. Also connections from any adapters used are sometimes suspect too. I would be certain all your connections are solid first. Always turn on your source first to allow it to settle, than the power amplifier, and you should be good to go. I use to use my computer to run to my XPA-2 directly, found an Preamplifier feeding the amp worked better so I sent my computer audio to a preamplifier than goes to the XPA-2. Life was good. You should in any case be able to run your computer to your XPA-5 with ease as long as there are no DC or other things that would trip the protection circuitry in the XPA-5.
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Post by garbulky on Nov 19, 2015 10:23:59 GMT -5
Try switching the cable where the noise was to the other speaker. Does it follow the wire? If so the problem is the cable. IF it doesn't the problem is your card is not very good and maybe the culprit. Also a possible culprit is dirty usb power. A cheap POWERED FROM THE WALL USB hub may solve the issue (or may not) This card I link here is EXCELLENT. Its daughterboard (purchase separately) provides multichannel www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Essence_STX_II_71/ |
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bootman
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Post by bootman on Nov 19, 2015 11:23:10 GMT -5
A HTPC should be really be considered a source and not a processor.
This avoids all of these types of connections problems.
Not saying it can't be done, but in no way should this be considered an optimal solution long term.
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KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Nov 19, 2015 12:09:46 GMT -5
Here's are a few other suggestions.....
Our amps are quite sensitive to bad connections on the interconnects - on either the signal or ground leads. (Basically, if you move the wire and it crunches or crackles, that will probably be enough of a "bad connection" to trigger the protection on our amps.) Therefore you need to make sure that any RCA interconnects are tight and don't wiggle, and any signal going through 1/8" stereo connectors is going to be problematic (they tend to crunch if you move the wire around, which will trigger the amp's protection circuitry). The protection on our amps will also trip if it detects excessive DC or high frequency noise on the incoming signal. Since the sound card runs off the computer's power, it is quite likely that there will in fact be DC or noise on its outputs when you turn it on, so you should definitely turn the amplifier on AFTER the Sound Card is powered up and running to avoid this. (And it would be better to turn the amp off first as well.)
Note that triggering the protection won't damage anything, but it means that you're going to have to be real careful to avoid moving the wires around while using the amp and your Sound Card.
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honie
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Post by honie on Nov 20, 2015 6:00:14 GMT -5
It was like mosquito noise.... or flies...
The Problem with powering up the PC and soundcard and injecting noises to the amplifier and Speakers is really bad.
So I decide to look for a precessor.
Unfortunatly the UMC-200 is out of stock, so I will look for a used one.
This will solve also my second Problem, because the soundblaster does not have any
digital multichannel Input, which I need für my satellite Receiver.
So the precessor will do the decoding Job, and the soundcard will be used elsewhere.
Because of using a 4k Monitor, which will do the upscaling Job for TV, I just need no HDMI calculation.
Just bypassing the Signal from the satellite Receiver and the PC connected directly with the Display Port using the full 4k Resolution.
So the UMC-200 will do this Job - I hope ... ;-)
Or any other suggestions?
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Post by garbulky on Nov 20, 2015 8:46:39 GMT -5
Yeah it'll do the job. But ....just a warning HDMI 2 and 4k is already here. Your UMC-200 will not be able to do the latest 4k blu ray that's about to come out. Basically anything withh HDCP 2.2 Since you have a 4k tv I thought you ould want to know.
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bootman
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Post by bootman on Nov 20, 2015 11:54:23 GMT -5
Yeah it'll do the job. But ....just a warning HDMI 2 and 4k is already here. Your UMC-200 will not be able to do the latest 4k blu ray that's about to come out. Basically anything withh HDCP 2.2 Since you have a 4k tv I thought you ould want to know. But these new 4K players should have dual HDMI out for the vast majority of folks without HDMI2.0 gear. (including lots of 4K displays already out there.  ) oh and if you did buy any brand new HDMI 2.0 gear this year it is now time to upgrade. HDMI 2.0a is here.....  |
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KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Nov 20, 2015 14:33:28 GMT -5
The noises you describe sound like power supply noise from the computer leaking into the sound card. Many USB-powered DACs are sensitive to noise on the computer's power supply or ground. They tend to work perfectly with non-ground-referenced devices like headphones, but to become noisy when you connect them "between" the computer and some other audio system. (Your Sound Blaster box is basically a USB DAC.) Our Ego DACs don't seem to have this problem much, and it almost never happens with AC line powered DACs, but it is relatively common with USB-powered DACs. (If that's the problem, and you listen carefully, you can probably hear the noise change a little when you open or move windows on your computer's screen.) It was like mosquito noise.... or flies... The Problem with powering up the PC and soundcard and injecting noises to the amplifier and Speakers is really bad. So I decide to look for a precessor. Unfortunatly the UMC-200 is out of stock, so I will look for a used one. This will solve also my second Problem, because the soundblaster does not have any digital multichannel Input, which I need für my satellite Receiver. So the precessor will do the decoding Job, and the soundcard will be used elsewhere. Because of using a 4k Monitor, which will do the upscaling Job for TV, I just need no HDMI calculation. Just bypassing the Signal from the satellite Receiver and the PC connected directly with the Display Port using the full 4k Resolution. So the UMC-200 will do this Job - I hope ... ;-) Or any other suggestions? |
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Post by sycraft on Dec 7, 2015 0:12:41 GMT -5
Also something to note since Keith mentioned DC issues: Some Creative Labs soundcards have DC on their outputs at all times. I don't know if that particular one does, but the Audigy 2 I had back in the day did. It didn't have any filter caps on the outputs, so there was a small DC voltage on the outputs at all times. If that makes the Emotiva amps angry, then that could potentially be an issue.
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