|
|
Post by calypte on Feb 1, 2015 15:26:36 GMT -5
I was within seconds of ordering a DAC from another source (and they have big selection), but then I decided to check Emotiva. The XDA-2 looks interesting. But then I discovered the cesspool of changing USB audio specifications, which I hadn't suspected. Going back to look at competing products, one competing unit defaults to USB Audio 1.0, but it can do 2.0 with a downloaded driver. Others are (apparently) strictly 1.0. But this raises questions: (1) Should I care? 1.0 already samples well beyond anything relevant for home audio. (2) If the XDA-2 requires special drivers, then why aren't they included on a disc with the product? I have astronomy equipment that operate on USB, and they all come with drivers on a disc. Not always the latest drivers, but enough to get you started. (3) Does the XDA-2 come with something as simple as an approved USB cable?
|
|
|
|
Post by audiobill on Feb 1, 2015 17:16:11 GMT -5
CDs are so 2000's.
Try downloading the driver.....
|
|
klinemj
Emo VIPs 
Official Emofest Scribe
Posts: 15,090
|
Post by klinemj on Feb 1, 2015 17:36:40 GMT -5
Better yet - buy the DC-1. At the secret warehouse sale price, it can't be beat. It is an awesome DAC.
Mark
|
|
|
|
Post by calypte on Feb 1, 2015 18:13:19 GMT -5
**2-channel** CDs are so 2000, or, really, so 1982. And none of these DACs can do anything beyond that. I have a lot of multichannel SACDs, and they go way beyond redbook CD. But the DAC will be used with a 2-channel office/library system. It's a 2003-vintage Sony player, and I'll be interested to see if the DAC (via coax) makes an audible difference.
|
|
|
|
Post by flamingeye on Feb 2, 2015 14:34:02 GMT -5
I have a question I don't have a dac or anything just my laptop a ASUS x550l and headphones connected to the headphone 3.5mm jack , but the thing is when I'm playing at 24/96 set at 1/2 volume level and then switch it to 24/192 the volume is halved and that goes for 44.1/16 . why would that happen? I'm completely PC illiterate, but this make no sense to me.
|
|
|
|
Post by chaosrv on Feb 2, 2015 15:16:15 GMT -5
I have a question I don't have a dac or anything just my laptop a ASUS x550l and headphones connected to the headphone 3.5mm jack , but the thing is when I'm playing at 24/96 set at 1/2 volume level and then switch it to 24/192 the volume is halved and that goes for 44.1/16 . why would that happen? I'm completely PC illiterate, but this make no sense to me . I'm playing Pandora one is that why I need to keep it at 24/96 . Are all 44/1/16 files louder than the 24/96 or 24/192 files? Or is it program to program that varies? If the former, I would venture to guess some of your files were mastered at higher levels. The bit rate etc.. has nothing to do with how loud a file will play. How they are mastered will. If it is program to program, check the volume settings for each program. They are likely different and should be matched. It is also possible that one program is simply louder than another. |
|
|
|
Post by flamingeye on Feb 2, 2015 15:30:25 GMT -5
It only get's louder when I use the 24/96 all others will reduce the volume buy 1/2 it does not matter what I'm playing -Pandora one or a file of any resolution. as long as I set the playback to 24/96 I will get better output/volume in other words the ASUS x550l laptop's playback devise needs to be set at 24/96 not 44.1/16, 24/48, 24/192 etc..
|
|
|
|
Post by calypte on Feb 13, 2015 15:50:59 GMT -5
I have my XDA-2. Can someone please explain the purpose of the sample-rate display on the front panel, other than being a pretty decoration? It shows 44.1 KHz, no matter what I play.
|
|
|
|
Post by jmilton on Feb 13, 2015 15:58:28 GMT -5
^ try playing something in hi-rez. It will display 48, 96, ...etc. sample rates as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by calypte on Feb 13, 2015 21:31:09 GMT -5
^ try playing something in hi-rez. It will display 48, 96, ...etc. sample rates as well. I played a 24-bit FLAC that displays in Foobar2000 as 88200 Hz. The DAC shows 44.1 KHz. |
|
|
|
Post by TheMachinist on Feb 14, 2015 7:10:18 GMT -5
Are you using WASAPI ? and any other resampler component that would resample everything to 44.1khz ?
|
|
|
|
Post by calypte on Feb 14, 2015 20:04:59 GMT -5
Are you using WASAPI ? and any other resampler component that would resample everything to 44.1khz ? I had to add a WASAPI plug-in for Foobar2000. Edited to add: 24-bit FLACs now show 96 KHz on the display. Thanks for the hint. |
|
|
|
Post by calypte on Feb 16, 2015 15:14:27 GMT -5
A problem I'm getting with FLAC files on the PC is occasional dropouts. The dropouts aren't in the FLACs. I assume it's something in the software (Foobar2000) or PC setup. Windows 8.1.
|
|
KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,266
|
Post by KeithL on Feb 17, 2015 0:16:25 GMT -5
Unfortunately, occasional dropouts are usually the result of a momentary insufficiency of processing power or an interruption in the data itself. This can happen if the computer is simply underpowered, or if something (like a program update or an antivirus program) uses up too many computer resources for a few seconds, or especially if the drive you're playing your file from stops providing data for a split second. Some things you can try are: 1) Disable any and all updates and antivirus programs (at least temporarily) 2) Don't run ANYTHING else while you're playing music (at least until you rule it out as the issue) 3) If you've been playing from a USB stick or hard drive, try copying a few files to your hard drive and playing them from there (some USB drives and sticks will hesitate for several seconds every now and then) 4) #3 is especially true if you're using other USB devices (in which case they can interfere for long enough to cause dropouts), or if your USB drive "goes to sleep" when you're not using it - like some WD models do. 5) Try a different USB port (if you're using a USB DAC or playing from a USB stick) (some USB ports have higher priority than others) 6) Make sure ALL your drivers are up to date (an outdated graphic driver or WiFi driver can cause momentary hesitations which can affects lots of things) Specifically, in Foobar2000, there are buffer settings... try different settings (don't assume "bigger is better" - just try different settings and look for one that works better) A problem I'm getting with FLAC files on the PC is occasional dropouts. The dropouts aren't in the FLACs. I assume it's something in the software (Foobar2000) or PC setup. Windows 8.1. |
|
|
|
Post by calypte on Feb 24, 2015 12:54:54 GMT -5
Although the dropouts are an annoyance, they are infrequent. I may fiddle with the buffer settings in Foobar2000. The computer is an exile from my observatory. A lightning strike last April disabled two of the three USB ports, but one port is all I need for this. The computer's sole job these days is to manage hi-rez music downloads.
The whole digital music scene, about which I knew nothing a month ago, has been a real education. Somehow I'd been lead to believe that CDs were going the way of 78s, that everybody is doing downloads now. Well, people may be going to mp3 (which is of no interest to me), but not to hi-rez. The selection (classical music) is limited, and the cost isn't competitive enough to warrant a changeover from CDs to downloads.
The XDA-2 has performed flawlessly. I think I chose the right DAC.
|
|
|
|
Post by neo on Apr 15, 2015 21:14:18 GMT -5
As you probably know, the XDA-2 now displays the sample rate of the incoming digital audio on the display. You may notice that the rate you see displayed is sometimes different than you expect. Specifically, you may see 44.1 displayed (or 96k) when you were expecting a higher sample rate. THE SAMPLE RATE ON THE XDA-2 DISPLAY IS CORRECT. Many operating systems, including Windows, often re-sample the playback rate for digital audio files as they are played. So, for example, you may play a 96k file in FooBar2000 (a very popular player program), and see 96k displayed in the player status window, but see 44.1 displayed on the XDA-2's display. What's happening is that FooBar2000 is playing your 96k file, and correctly reporting the sample rate. It then passes the file to Windows, which is re-sampling the file to 44.1k (which is probably set as its default rate), and passing it on to the XDA-2, which then correctly reports what IT receives as 44.1k. Whether this happens or not will depend on your software (Windows 7 does it by default, as do some Macs). In some instances you may be able to choose a different playback mode which doesn't re-sample, some players may automatically override the Windows preference, and you may actually find that you prefer the sound of a specific sample rate (for example, some people prefer to let Windows up-sample their 44.1k files to 96k). [The XDA-2 does have an ASRC (sample rate converter) which INTERNALLY re-samples data to 96k while eliminating jitter when it is engaged (NOT bypassed). The operation of the ASRC is transparent to the display; the display will always display the sample rate of the incoming data as it really is, even when the ASRC is operating.] Hi Keith, You mentioned that XDA-2 resample incoming data to 96k. But if the incoming data is more than 96k, what the ASRC does then? |
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Apr 17, 2015 2:35:37 GMT -5
It downsamples it. The DC-1 on the other hand does not upsample or downsample for ASRC. Note this is diferent from saying it never upsamples. Just that it will do jitter control at the native rate.
|
|
|
|
Post by ndsuperfan1 on Apr 21, 2015 20:37:45 GMT -5
I have a relatively new Stealth DC-1. Whenever it is set to Asynchronous, I hear a crackling distortion in the right channel of my phones (any phones). It completely goes away when I switch to Synchronous. I sent this to Emotiva and after a 1 month turnaround I received it back. It still does the same thing. Anyone else have this problem? It sounds great in Synchronous and I don't want to send it back. I can't be without my music for another month. Any ideas?
Yes, multiple headphones were tried and all had the same phenomenon in the right channel.
|
|
|
|
Post by vneal on Apr 22, 2015 18:35:03 GMT -5
No offense but anyone listening to downloaded music through headphones/computer with no DAC is listening to crap. ALL computer soundcards sound awful. For $150 you can get an external DAC that sounds great,
|
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Apr 23, 2015 17:16:51 GMT -5
I have a relatively new Stealth DC-1. Whenever it is set to Asynchronous, I hear a crackling distortion in the right channel of my phones (any phones). It completely goes away when I switch to Synchronous. I sent this to Emotiva and after a 1 month turnaround I received it back. It still does the same thing. Anyone else have this problem? It sounds great in Synchronous and I don't want to send it back. I can't be without my music for another month. Any ideas? Yes, multiple headphones were tried and all had the same phenomenon in the right channel. So... Does the headphone constantly crackle even when nothing is playing on asynchronous? DOes it sound really bad crackling like absolutely unlistenable static or is the audio understandable just with a bit of static? If it's ocassional crackling the problem is probably with the buffer settings or the program on your computer. For instance media monkey does that for me using WASAPI. But Foobar with the buffer increased to say 2000ms has no stuttering. If it's really bad crackling like unlistenable, I think the problem is either the DC-1 or a substandard USB port on the computer. It may happen when something big turns on in your house like an AC or a washing machine. Try switching USB ports. Alternatively you can purchase a USB to spdif adapter and see if that makes a difference. |
|
