[wsilvio]

So I received my ultra DAC/BUDA combo pack yesterday and was very excited to hook everything up. I'm running Itunes on an Imac to an airport express with optical out to the Ultra DAC. When I turned everything on, I was greeted with sound so glorious I was speechless. But soon I started to get cutouts from the DAC! So I started to trouble shoot the whole situation. So the first thing I did was hook up the micro DAC I was using previously to the unbalanced inputs of the amp. Everything worked great thereby eliminating the amp as the problem. I then tried the Ultra DAC again but through USB from my macbook pro laptop. Again everything was great. I them tried coaxial and optical out from a DVD player. Again no issues.

So I guess the question is, how can the optical stream from the airport express work flawlessly with the micro dac, but not work with the Ultra desktop DAC? I've contacted Headroom and they're not quite sure what to tell me. So, before I send the Ultra back to them to be looked at, I'm wondering if anyone here could offer some suggestions. I cannot make the micro DAC cutout with the airport and have been using that combo for many months without issue. However, at first glance everything I did seems to hint at the problem being the airport express and not the Ultra except for the fact that there is no issues using it with the micro. It just doesn't make sense!


will

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wsilvio /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I received my ultra DAC/BUDA combo pack yesterday and was very excited to hook everything up. I'm running Itunes on an Imac to an airport express with optical out to the Ultra DAC. When I turned everything on, I was greeted with sound so glorious I was speechless. But soon I started to get cutouts from the DAC! So I started to trouble shoot the whole situation. So the first thing I did was hook up the micro DAC I was using previously to the unbalanced inputs of the amp. Everything worked great thereby eliminating the amp as the problem. I then tried the Ultra DAC again but through USB from my macbook pro laptop. Again everything was great. I them tried coaxial and optical out from a DVD player. Again no issues. So I guess the question is, how can the optical stream from the airport express work flawlessly with the micro dac, but not work with the Ultra desktop DAC? I've contacted Headroom and they're not quite sure what to tell me. So, before I send the Ultra back to them to be looked at, I'm wondering if anyone here could offer some suggestions. I cannot make the micro DAC cutout with the airport and have been using that combo for many months without issue. However, at first glance everything I did seems to hint at the problem being the airport express and not the Ultra except for the fact that there is no issues using it with the micro. It just doesn't make sense! will

Can't help except to say that I used to have cut out problems on and off with the Airport Express in general, so this is certainly not unusual to hear. As for why it might effect one DAC more than the other, there may be something about the nature of the data stream (in terms of reliability) - perhaps the Micro can cope with a more degraded signal than the BUDA before actually skipping.

Just uninformed speculation...

 

[wsilvio]

Yeah, I really don't believe the DAC is at fault but need to talk with Headroom's tech on Monday to talk it over before I send it in. But it doesn't make sense that the AEX works with one and not the other. If it is the AEX, that really puts a cramp on how I get music to the UDAC since I have taken the time to put all my music in ALAC on my computer. Maybe a squeezbox or make a mac mini a music server.

 

[wsilvio]

Problem solved! I went and bought a Sonos wireless system and everything works great! So basically as far as I can tell, the AEX and the Ultra DAC don't play well together.

will

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSloth /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for why it might effect one DAC more than the other, there may be something about the nature of the data stream (in terms of reliability) - perhaps the Micro can cope with a more degraded signal than the BUDA before actually skipping. Just uninformed speculation...

This may be the case, we've got to get some more experience with this DAC and its behaviors before we know much more.

I've got a question though: when it dropped out, did it come back on in a nice smooth manner, or was it a glitchy event? The 9008 has a muting circuit, and if, when it came back on, it came on smoothly with the normal volume ramp-up after mute, then the chip knew that it had lost lock.

We have expeienced a very quite, and annoyingly occasional glitch when under USB control. This behavior is widely observed in the DIY community as well. It boils down to a jitter acceptance apperture software setting.

We'd love to hear about any of your glitches with this new product.

 

[wsilvio]

Tyll,

I would say it sounded like it lost lock. Sometimes it was smoother than others due to the number of dropout in a given time. Sometime it was occasional and other times would happen in a 2-3 time per second fashion. I tried every digital device I had on hand and could only make it lose lock with the airport express. I have had no issues with my new sonos setup. I tried it with both coaxial and optical out. Both sound identical so I left it on coaxial.

On a different note, I just want to say how much I am enjoying the UDAC/BUDA combo. It's fantastic! I feel like I'm hearing my music collection for the first time. I was listening to Miles Davis Kind of Blue last night and was blown away by how it sounded. I have been listening to that album for 20 years now and never heard it sound this good. As a professional musician, I truly appreciate the realism of the sound I get through this system.

will

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Thanks for the feedback, and I'm glad you're enjoying it, Will.