Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Impressive list . My impressions, the audiolab and musical fidelity stands out as best spec among the cheaper models almost on par with the expensive offerings . This new benchmark models looks impressive with a well thought out feature set . Disclaimer , spec are somewhat hard to compare, could be apples and oranges etc . Maybe stereophile have measured some of the models ? Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus measures very well. Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk 2 darrenyeats's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10799 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Mnyb wrote: I have no exact idea on a perfect replacement . We can build short list . Audiolab MDAC, Benchmark ,Lavry , arcam rdac . Add on people . Two trends to be vary off. There always seems to be new ( Chinese ) DAC brand every week ,often Internet only , promises a lot. Flawed designs NOS DAC's and other weird topologies with old technology. LOL! I thought that there is a new Chinese DAC daily! The flawed designs part refers to most of the new high end DACs, which also seem to appear almost weekly, along with the requisite gushing review from one of the high end audio rags, oops I mean, magazines. ralphpnj's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10827 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Mnyb wrote: I have no exact idea on a perfect replacement . We can build short list . Audiolab MDAC, Benchmark ,Lavry , arcam rdac . Add on people . Two trends to be vary off. There always seems to be new ( Chinese ) DAC brand every week ,often Internet only , promises a lot. Flawed designs NOS DAC's and other weird topologies with old technology. I've always been very happy with my Benchmark DAC I (the original version). If I replaced it, I'd probably consider this one: http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/dac/dac2-hgc garym's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=17325 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Thanks for all the suggestions! It's a bit overwhelming. I haven't done this for ages, and given where I am currently located, I am not going to have a chance to audition a new DAC within my system before I buy it, so I'm going to have to make a decision based on technical specifications, reviews and suggestions from all of you. From a search of various forums and reviews and some initial suggestions here, this is my first take at a potential list. How would you vote? Any ones to be avoided at all costs? Schiit Bifrost $500 Musical Fidelity M1 £400 Rega DAC£500 Audiolab M-DAC £600 Wadia 121 Decoding Computer $1300 M2 Tech Young DAC $1400 Lavry DA11 $1500 Benchmark DAC2-HGC $2000 Cyrus DAC-X+£1550 (only if they can do the 'upgrade' at a lower price, mainly because it fits in from an integrated remote and aesthetic match standpoint) Nikhil's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=993 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
So I found the time to swap the components around, and zeroed the fault to the Cyrus DAC-X :( . It's a far more expensive proposition than a faulty SB Touch. Oh well! The problem has gotten much worse in the past few days - no longer restricted to 48 kHz material, but all across the board from all sources, so it is no longer listenable at all. I've contacted my original dealer - who says he's discontinued Cyrus because of poor support. I'm now in touch with Cyrus directly and their new local representative, who are trying to come up with something for me, but I don't hold too much hope, and even if they do, I fear it is going to be extremely expensive to get the whole thing fixed when freight, customs duties and other taxes are added. A quick search on the interwebs reveals that other people have had exactly the same problems with their Cyrus DACs, and some have been able to narrow down the problem to some capacitors. I'm going to investigate the possibility of getting these replaced myself. Since the DAC problems started, I have been using the SBT analog outputs, which I'd never done before, because I've always had a DAC. The SBT analog output is pretty impressive, but I have a clear preference for the sound of the DAC especially on good recordings. Given the low likelihood of the DAC being fixed, and the potential high cost of the repair if possible, it might be sensible for me to start looking for a modern DAC. I read that DACs have come a long way in the past few years, so I might be able to get a superior new modern DAC for less than the cost of repairs. Any suggestions for a DAC that would sit well in my setup - SBT + Cyrus 8 Amp with PSX-R + Dynaudio 52SE Speakers? Thanks. Nikhil's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=993 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
I have no exact idea on a perfect replacement . We can build short list . Audiolab MDAC, Benchmark ,Lavry , arcam rdac . Add on people . Two trends to be vary off. There always seems to be new ( Chinese ) DAC brand every week ,often Internet only , promises a lot. Flawed designs NOS DAC's and other weird topologies with old technology. Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Yes, last night I realised I forgot to ask about inputs. My comment assumes also you used the same input and connecting cable both for SB3 and SBT. Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2 darrenyeats's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10799 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
darrenyeats wrote: Yes, last night I realized I forgot to ask about inputs. My comment assumes also you used the same input and connecting cable both for SB3 and SBT. Yes I did use the same inputs for the SBT and SB2 - even the same coax cable; just swapped them in place. All 44.1, 88.2 and 96 kHz material plays beautifully from the SBT, and all 44.1 and 48 kHz material plays beautifully with the SB2. Nothing is working with the optical. I still haven't had a chance to bring my 2nd Touch and TacT digital amp over to test. Nikhil's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=993 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Mnyb wrote: I have no trouble running 48khz or 96khz or 44.1 or 88.2 What are the file formats involved ? If you haven't try flac , this is a good baseline and no weird settings in file types . Also the wifi strength at 50% and 38% does not look good to me , if any kind of transcoding is involved it should be to flac ,not PCM to conserve bandwith . As I mentioned right at the start of my original post, I am using flac files. There is no transcoding happening. I am streaming it as flac and it is natively being decoded by the SBTouch. With regards to your comment on the WiFi strength, that obviously isn't a problem because the SB2 with 38% signal is playing 48 kHz files and 44.1 kHz files absolutely fine. It is the SBTouch with the 50% signal that is showing the problem. More importantly, the same SBTouch is playing 88.2 and 96 kHz files back fine; it only has a problem with 48 kHz files that are playing fine everywhere else and also with the analog output of the same SBTouch. I have ruled out a problem with the DAC, therefore it is my assumption that there is a hardware problem with the digital section of the SBTouch. Unfortunately the firmware update and LMS update has not made a difference. Nikhil's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=993 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Nikhil wrote: With regards to your comment on the WiFi strength, that obviously isn't a problem because the SB2 with 38% signal is playing 48 kHz files and 44.1 kHz files absolutely fine. It is the SBTouch with the 50% signal that is showing the problem. IIRC the wifi signal strength comes from the chipsets and it is not standardised. There are different Wifi chipsets in SB2 and SBT and therefore the 2 numbers are not comparable i.e. 50% on SB2 is NOT the same level as 50% on SBT. The signal strength is just to be used as a guide when trying to get a better signal. However since 96kHz streams play OK - wifi is not the issue. However since the problem is only with 48kHz when coming from digital and there is no problem with playing 48kHz through analog. It seems it could be an incompatibility between SBT and DAC. The problems happens with both optical and coax connections ? Does the problem happen with a different DAC ? bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
bpa wrote: IIRC the wifi signal strength comes from the chipsets and it is not standardised. There are different Wifi chipsets in SB2 and SBT and therefore the 2 numbers are not comparable i.e. 50% on SB2 is NOT the same level as 50% on SBT. The signal strength is just to be used as a guide when trying to get a better signal. However since 96kHz streams play OK - wifi is not the issue. However since the problem is only with 48kHz when coming from digital and there is no problem with playing 48kHz through analog. It seems it could be an incompatibility between SBT and DAC. The problems happens with both optical and coax connections ? Does the problem happen with a different DAC ? You think it could be lock problem that the DAC cant lock onto the stream exceptionally weird that it happens for one rate only ? +1 try another DAC and also newr player fw . I just find it very strange that a hardware failure on the Touch would disable just one sample rate ? especially when the 96k is working, if both 48 and 96 where broken one could suspect some clock circuit or similar or 44.1 and 88.2 . Another test is to sync the SB2 and Touch and play one of the 24/96 files then the server will transcode to 24/48 for both players . Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
It is a very strange problem. If it is not incompatibility - then it is back to source. Were the Flac files all created with the same application and compressed to the same level ? What is the origin of the 48Khz files are they different to the other files ? If the OP takes a working 96kHz file and then uses it to create a 48kHz Flac file with resampling - does this file now have a problem ? bpa's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1806 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
bpa wrote: It seems it could be an incompatibility between SBT and DAC. The problems happens with both optical and coax connections ? Does the problem happen with a different DAC ? Thanks for all the feedback. All good points. There is no inherent incompatibility problem between the SBT and the DAC, because I have happily used them together for years with files of all sample rates. This problem has only surfaced after the slight digital crackling that I mentioned in my original post was seen about a week or two ago. This led me to believe something has gone bad. I just tried with the optical instead of the coax and all I hear is digital crackling and the LCD display on my DAC starts flickering wildly (with all sample rates 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96, though I'm not sure if 48kHz works with optical), so something is definitely amiss either in the DAC or the Touch Digital section. I don't have another DAC handy at the moment, but I will bring my 2nd SB Touch and TacT digital amplifier in from my other home and swap the sources around over the weekend when I have some time. Nikhil's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=993 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Nikhil wrote: Thanks for all the feedback. All good points. There is no inherent incompatibility problem between the SBT and the DAC, because I have happily used them together for years with files of all sample rates. This problem has only surfaced after the slight digital crackling that I mentioned in my original post was seen about a week or two ago. This led me to believe something has gone bad. I just tried with the optical instead of the coax and all I hear is digital crackling and the LCD display on my DAC starts flickering wildly (with all sample rates 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96, though I'm not sure if 48kHz works with optical), so something is definitely amiss either in the DAC or the Touch Digital section. I don't have another DAC handy at the moment, but I will bring my 2nd SB Touch and TacT digital amplifier in from my other home and swap the sources around over the weekend when I have some time. Ok now it's make more sense if every sampler rate act's up ? good that you have a second Touch to try with , Touch hardware failure DAC hardware failure ? With a second DAC (Tact) and 2 Touch and the SB2 you will probably get a better idea Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Were there any server or firmware updates around the time the crackling appeared? If not, it seems to me like a hardware issue in the Touch. Darren Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk 2 darrenyeats's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10799 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
I'm still investigating. Looking online it appears that people have reported problems with their Cyrus DACs that started in the same way - digital crackle from a speaker, then variable problems with one or more digital input. Nikhil's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=993 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
Upgrading LMS to something more current might help. Stratmangler's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=20387 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
+1 Try more current LMS and player fw ! ( if it/was a bug it could have been fixed ages ago and everyone have already forgot about it ) , I have no trouble running 48khz or 96khz or 44.1 or 88.2 What are the file formats involved ? If you haven't try flac , this is a good baseline and no weird settings in file types . Also the wifi strength at 50% and 38% does not look good to me , if any kind of transcoding is involved it should be to flac ,not PCM to conserve bandwith . Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
Re: [SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Strange problem with 48kHz material
OK, I think I have partially answered my own question. I replaced the SB Touch with my old SB2 and now all 48kHz material seems to play fine through the Cyrus DAC-X, so that seems to point the blame towards the SB Touch rather than the DAC. I will bring over another SB Touch from my office to verify my findings. Any suggestions? Thanks. Nikhil's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=993 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97305 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
