New Audiolab DAC - Page 43

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel_hokkaido 

any other experiences with MCRU psu? I was half tempted to pick one up at the bristol audio show. 

 

eww just updated new firmware. wider crisper soundstage anyone? That's my impression. 

Just wait for MPAX, the official PSU upgrade designed by John W. I think it'll be around £400 including mods to the M-DAC itself for optimal performance.

Well... I just ordered a new M-DAC.

Jittery fingers pushing the button, but now I'm just excited and can't wait to hook it up!

More soon!

I've been wanting to pair an amp with my Audiolab M-DAC.

The three I have my eye on at the moment is the Meier Audio Corda Classic, Woo Audio WA6 and the very expensive Leben CS-300XS Integrated Amp?

The headphones I have in mind are the following. Beyer T90, Beyer T1, Grado 1000GS, Alessandro MS-Pro.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shane55 

Well... I just ordered a new M-DAC.

Jittery fingers pushing the button, but now I'm just excited and can't wait to hook it up!

 

More soon!

Trust me. You will not be disappointed. Just remember it needs some time to burn in. Got to do with "organic capacitors" that is used in the M-DAC.

Very smooth and transparent sounding headphone amp. Also has really cool options you can set though the menu system.

One thing that made a huge difference for me is that you have set it up just as described in the manual. It will also pay to head over to http://wikkii.org/wiki/M-DAC to get the latest firmware written by the designer himself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGrumpyOldMan 

The Wiiki doesn't have the latest updates yet, see my earlier post (#626) for more info if you're interested.

 

Also, I like the M-DAC so much, I just got a silver one to complete the set . I'm happy to report this one wasn't DOA, and after some burn-in/reliability test there seem to be no problem (stuck relays etc.) on any of the outputs either. Yay. (touches wood...)

You got one DOA?

What did you do, send it back to the UK or the distributor in Toronto?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirBenn21 

 

Trust me. You will not be disappointed. Just remember it needs some time to burn in. Got to do with "organic capacitors" that is used in the M-DAC.

Very smooth and transparent sounding headphone amp. Also has really cool options you can set though the menu system.

One thing that made a huge difference for me is that you have set it up just as described in the manual. It will also pay to head over to http://wikkii.org/wiki/M-DAC to get the latest firmware written by the designer himself.

Thanks!

Yes, I'm sure I'll update the firmware when I get it... which should be early next week. I'm kind of surprised the newer pieces don't come with the latest firmware already installed.

Got it today.

Sounds good... firmware updated.

One minor / major problem.

Opt1 is dead. All other inputs operate perfectly. Gotta send it back...   

Quote:

Originally Posted by shane55 

 

You got one DOA? What did you do, send it back to the UK or the distributor in Toronto?

Yep, first one had the dreaded "No Comms" error that affected quite a few people. Actually trying to see online if anything could be done is how I came across the PFM forum and John Westlake's participation. He actually gave me some instructions to try and troubleshoot the hardware, but the issue was non-fixable at my level, and apparently a QA issue back in the (chinese) factory... Since I'm in the US I ordered it from the canadian distributor and they were helpful and very quick in replacing it (at the time the M-DAC was hard to get a hold of, and me replacement was the last one)

Re: Optical input issue: hmm, never heard that one before... sounds obvious, but did you double-check your connections? Remember, the 3 optical (& coax) connectors are right next to each other, but one of them is an output only... if you are absolutely, positively sure when you plug your same optical cable into OPT1 and it works, but not when in OPT2 (and switched accordingly from the input selector) I'm very sorry for your trouble... but when it's fixed/replaced it'll be worth it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGrumpyOldMan 

Re: Optical input issue: hmm, never heard that one before... sounds obvious, but did you double-check your connections? Remember, the 3 optical (& coax) connectors are right next to each other, but one of them is an output only... if you are absolutely, positively sure when plug your same optical cable into OPT1 and it works, but not when in OPT2 (and switched accordingly from the input selector) I'm very sorry for your trouble... but when it's fixed/replaced it'll be worth it.

Yep.

Did every test known to man...
Same cables, different cables, check all inputs (Coax, USB and Opt2 all worked fine). Updated the firmware... no help.

Cycled on and off, power disconnected. All the usual troubleshooting techniques.

Went through the filters... nada.

You can see the VU meters sometimes / sometimes not, work. but the sampling / frequency rate flutters and won't lock.

Dead input. Oh well.

I've been listening to it with Opt2 for the last several hours. Running Optimal Transient DD with my DT880-600's. Very nice. Though it doesn't seem to have the weight or punch of the Audio-gd NFB-12, it's certainly on par with my DAC1-PRE, from what I can tell. Clean and neutral. I'll let it burn-in overnight and do more listening tomorrow, since it won't be sent back until Toronto gets back to me about the return.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGrumpyOldMan 

The Wikkii doesn't have the latest updates yet, see my earlier post (#626) for more info if you're interested.

Also, I like the M-DAC so much, I just got a silver one to complete the set . I'm happy to report this one wasn't DOA, and after some burn-in/reliability test there seem to be no problem (stuck relays etc.) on any of the outputs either. Yay. (touches wood...)

Thanks.

Where do you go to find out about the latest updates?

EDIT: Nevermind. I decided to read you post properly.

Update to dead Opt1 input.

Not dead.

Plays 16/44.1khz files only. Plays and passes Bitperfect test in that rate.

Will not lock on 24/96khz signal (all other inputs play them Bitperfect)

Still not right, and going back, but at least it narrows down the problem...

Edit: Also, after having the unit run all night, it's exhibiting a more rich, full-bodied sound with a bit more punch and impact.

RE-EDIT: A different computer, with an ASUS Xonar STX board was able to get Opt1 working. Different or same cables will work with this card-out.

Though it does seem to skip (drop out for an instant) shortly after being first set to Opt1, it otherwise plays well and Bitperfect tests all pass.

I'll hold onto it for now and do much more testing, but at this point, with one computer (Laptop) in Opt2, and the desktop w/ Xonar in Opt1, things are fully functional. I'll see if that skipping continues. There's obviously something touchy about that input...

You should try changing the jitter rejection of the port. Change optical 1 to medium, if that does not work try high.

If you have the latest firmware these options should be in the menu, on stock fw you can't do this.

I do believe that less jitter rejection is supposed to give better sound quality, so go for medium before trying high. I think there is a difference on stock jitter rejection setting for opt1 vs opt 2, which would explain why 2 works but not 1.

Hope that helps!
 

Glad you're enjoying your M-DAC! I still think the identical setup should not require a different jitter rejection setting from from one optical input to another... I guess it depends on how likely you are to need them both in the foreseeable future. If so, it might be worth looking into.

And speaking of looking into, since it's optical, do you check if there was some obstruction/dust in that input, maybe -carefully- use a bit of compressed air to blow away any small bit of debris or similar?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGrumpyOldMan 

Glad you're enjoying your M-DAC! I still think the identical setup should not require a different jitter rejection setting from from one optical input to another... I guess it depends on how likely you are to need them both in the foreseeable future. If so, it might be worth looking into.

 

And speaking of looking into, since it's optical, do you check if there was some obstruction/dust in that input, maybe -carefully- use a bit of compressed air to blow away any small bit of debris or similar?

See below, but nah... other devices (Desktop & High-End CD player) work just fine in that (Opt1) input, so I'm keeping it. I'm chalking it up to just a sensitivity to whatever the Laptop is doing... even though the laptop works perfectly in Opt2. Who knows.

And you are correct, the jitter rejection settings have no effect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eccom 

You should try changing the jitter rejection of the port. Change optical 1 to medium, if that does not work try high.

If you have the latest firmware these options should be in the menu, on stock fw you can't do this.

 

I do believe that less jitter rejection is supposed to give better sound quality, so go for medium before trying high. I think there is a difference on stock jitter rejection setting for opt1 vs opt 2, which would explain why 2 works but not 1.

 

Hope that helps!
 

Thanks for the advice... same as the Toronto shop gave me. That didn't work... none of the jitter settings worked. Just must be some incompatibility with the laptop optical in that input, at that setting. I tried a high-end CD player and it worked just fine.
And since computer #2 optical out also works fine, I'm just going to keep this and chalk it up to a bad output from the laptop.
 

As for the sound... Wonderful.
Every day the sound seems to improve and become more natural and 'acoustic', while maintaining remarkable transients and detail. It has very good impact and depth. I'm quite pleased. Its sound has more in common with the Audio gd NFB-12, than it does with the Benchmark. It also is somewhat similar to the ASUS Xonar STX in its richness.

Add to that, the ability to now use my DT-880-600's with the steep roll-off (Optimal Transient DD), and I'm quite pleased. The DT-880 has always been just a bit bright for me, and this filter really helps.

So at this point, I'm a happy camper. This is a great little DAC.