[oliverny]

I keep searching old emails, see if maybe I have an alternate contact for James. If I end up reaching him, I will pass on the request for driver hosting somewhere... even if it's just a Onedrive or Google drive link of something, since no official site exists. We already have one linked above but that could go down at some point as well.

Any good news regarding the posting of the driver? I need to install the driver on a new PC, and the files included on google do not include the install .exe, so at this point I have not been able to install the Anedio driver. Thanks.

 

[project86]

Sorry, unfortunately I have not been able to reach him.

I just had an idea though - the Windows 10 "Creator" update has native USB audio support. I've used it successfully with other DACs. Maybe give that a try?

 

[tme110]

Sorry, unfortunately I have not been able to reach him.

I just had an idea though - the Windows 10 "Creator" update has native USB audio support. I've used it successfully with other DACs. Maybe give that a try?

yea, I was going to suggest earlier that the 'new' window's 10 upgrade which included better USB audio support should be able to help here...

 

[windowman]

OK, I forgot how the installation works, I haven't done it in a while and don't even have this DAC anymore. There is no "EXE" file, it does not install that way. From what I can recall, you plug the dac in via usb, but don't let windows automatically start searching for the driver. Stop it, and manually point it to either file with the "INF" extension. There are 2 of these types of files out of the 13 total files in the link. It should work after you do this.

 

[slackman]

Just bought an Anedio D2 on Ebay!
Really looking forward to hearing it. I've been longing for this DAC since it came out I believe
It's an 110V version though and I live in Europe. Can use it with a 230V to 110V power transformer of course, but am wondering if it can be switched to 230V internally. If so is there anybody here who knows how to do this? Is it a simple switch inside and perhaps a change of fuses?
Many thanks for any information!

 

[daredevil_kk]

Just bought an Anedio D2 on Ebay!
Really looking forward to hearing it. I've been longing for this DAC since it came out I believe
It's an 110V version though and I live in Europe. Can use it with a 230V to 110V power transformer of course, but am wondering if it can be switched to 230V internally. If so is there anybody here who knows how to do this? Is it a simple switch inside and perhaps a change of fuses?
Many thanks for any information!

Only the earlier batches of D2, you can switch it internally. So you have to look inside to know. You will enjoy the D2, not many DAC will be as good as it.

 

[slackman]

Only the earlier batches of D2, you can switch it internally. So you have to look inside to know. You will enjoy the D2, not many DAC will be as good as it.

Ok thank you!
The serial is D2C2549, without any knowledge of how they assigned serials it doesn't sound like an earlier batch if they started with D2A0001 So I'll get a power transformer.
I think I will indeed enjoy it! Looking for a very reveiling clean sound with a great soundstage, including from the headphone amp. Not looking for an every song sounds great and warm type of thing at all. Judging from reviews and measurements the D2 fits the bill perfectly.

 

[slackman]

Btw, I found the old Anedio website can still be read through the Wayback Machine, including the latest 1.56 driver!
https://web.archive.org/web/20161203123004/http://www.anedio.com:80/index.php/audio/gandalf
Links are clickable, and under "data & manual" you'll find the link to the 1.56 driver .exe for windows 10.
https://web.archive.org/web/2016120...dio.com/downloads/ausbaudio_v1.56.0_Win10.exe
And here the installation instructions for windows 10:
https://web.archive.org/web/2016120...ex.php/faq/faq#USB Audio Driver in Windows 10

"How to install the USB audio driver in Windows 10

Installing the USB audio driver in Windows 10 involves running the installer in the compatibility mode.
(1) Download the latest driver installer.
(2) Right-click the installer's icon and choose Properties.
(3) In the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select Windows 7.
(4) Run the installer, ignore the warning, and click "Run Anyway."
(5) Follow the onscreen instruction."

Hope this is of help to some!

 

[project86]

Good stuff, thanks! I get a PM every month or so asking if I still have the drivers, so I know there's still some remaining demand. This is very helpful!

 

[normanl]

Btw, I found the old Anedio website can still be read through the Wayback Machine, including the latest 1.56 driver!
https://web.archive.org/web/20161203123004/http://www.anedio.com:80/index.php/audio/gandalf
Links are clickable, and under "data & manual" you'll find the link to the 1.56 driver .exe for windows 10.
https://web.archive.org/web/2016120...dio.com/downloads/ausbaudio_v1.56.0_Win10.exe
And here the installation instructions for windows 10:
https://web.archive.org/web/20161206045028/http://www.anedio.com/index.php/faq/faq#USB Audio Driver in Windows 10

"How to install the USB audio driver in Windows 10

Installing the USB audio driver in Windows 10 involves running the installer in the compatibility mode.
(1) Download the latest driver installer.
(2) Right-click the installer's icon and choose Properties.
(3) In the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select Windows 7.
(4) Run the installer, ignore the warning, and click "Run Anyway."
(5) Follow the onscreen instruction."

Hope this is of help to some!

Thanks a lot for this excellent information! Now I can install ASIO driver for D2 in my Windows 10.

 

[Ferg1]

Hello all,

I have some questions on getting the best sound from my Anedio D2 Dac. I am using it in a speaker system. My setup was the D2 balanced outputs directly into the balanced inputs of a Primare A30.2 amplifier into Buchardt S300 speakers. I was using the volume control directly from the Anedio but the levels are usually under 50. I have heard there are issues with digital attenuation of this amount but that seems contested. Anyhow, the sound seemed a bit more impactful and less rolled off in the highs when I put the volume to 99 on the Anedio and passed the signal through a passive preamplifier before the amp. What are the factors at play here? What are the specs I should be looking at like input/output impedance etc that could be relevant to my investigation? I would like to avoid the preamp stage all together and am wondering if there is a way to go about that without loss of SQ.

 

[project86]

Pre-amps are a tricky topic. In theory, going from a very resolving DAC (with a quality volume solution) straight to an amplifier, with nothing in between them, might be technically superior. In the real world, it is my experience that this often sounds a bit lean. Adding an outboard pre-amp to the chain can help restore that tonal richness which feels goes missing with a DAC direct connection.

Obviously every system is different, so there's no universal answer here. In some cases we absolutely need that thicker tonality. Other times we might already be on the verge of overdoing it, so the direct DAC connection is best. And not all DACs are created equal with respect to their volume implementations and output stages etc. So it doesn't always manifest as thick versus thin, though I still think that is the most common result.

Bottom line - the D2 has a very well done volume control, with a combination of resistor and 32-bit digital attenuation. Technically it might be ideal in your system. But if you prefer the sound of an external pre-amp, by all means keep on using that. It might be that the pre-amp is in fact coloring the sound... but if that results in a more enjoyable presentation, then there's nothing wrong with that!

 

[gregorio]

I was using the volume control directly from the Anedio but the levels are usually under 50. I have heard there are issues with digital attenuation of this amount but that seems contested.

I’m not quite sure what “under 50” actually means in terms of signal attenuation. However, the general rule of thumb for highest fidelity gain-staging is for the digital signal to be at or slightly below 100% output level and then volume to be adjusted by the (analogue) amp.

What are the factors at play here?

The factor at play here is that the noise floor of a DAC is fixed. Attenuate the digital signal by enough and compensate with more analogue amplification will eventually cause problems, as the noise floor of the recording is lowered below the noise floor of the DAC and you start to loose actual low level signal/resolution. And, you could run into issues even before that, with additional noise or distortion from running your analogue amplification at much higher gain settings.

It’s impossible to say at what point you’ll start to audibly loose resolution, as it depends on the noise floor of the recording, the DAC’s noise floor and additional analogue amplification noise. There should normally be quite a bit of leeway (very roughly 20dB or more digital signal attenuation) before reaching that stage but the issue can be entirely avoided by proper gain-staging.

G

 

[project86]

If I recall correctly, the Anedio D2 does digital attenuation until the setting of 81, at which point it becomes full-scale and is attenuated in the analog domain via relay-controlled thin film resistor dividers. So really when running at a setting of 50, you are using 31 steps worth of digital attenuation. Those come in .5dB increments, so it is 15.5dB worth of digital attenuation. Not really all that much.

Still, if you like using a pre-amp better, then continue to do so. Whether it's caused by a deficiency in the Anedio volume implementation, or some beneficial coloration caused by the additional device... who cares?

 

[gregorio]

So really when running at a setting of 50, you are using 31 steps worth of digital attenuation. Those come in .5dB increments, so it is 15.5dB worth of digital attenuation. Not really all that much.

Agreed, that shouldn’t cause any audible issues.

G