[Wynnytsky]

@TitaniumDust
Any chance you were plugging into the red x?
(it looks yellow in this photo, but mine is white)

 

[Wynnytsky]

Jan - thanks for the good thoughts.

Fred - the static sound is like high distortion pure and simple. i’d think I had a bad tube in my mono tube amps - but it is both channels simultaneously.

thanks,

Lou D

How much voltage are you sending into your ISO Regen? Have you tried removing it entirely?

 

[Wynnytsky]

Still prefer the serial mode.

I've been spending more time listening to serial, but when I switch to parallel the first thing I notice is I loose high freq extension but I gain density. This is the same impression when my friend switches from his EMM DAC2X to his VPI Avenger. I'm waiting on Kiyoaki Imai (Audio Tekne) to send me some of his litz XLRs and then I want to post a video with those cables on the parallel filter.

 

[FredA]

I've been spending more time listening to serial, but when I switch to parallel the first thing I notice is I loose high freq extension but I gain density. This is the same impression when my friend switches from his EMM DAC2X to his VPI Avenger. I'm waiting on Kiyoaki Imai (Audio Tekne) to send me some of his litz XLRs and then I want to post a video with those cables on the parallel filter.

Strange, i get more density with serial. But i use an external clock. I should get a Morion clock within the next few days. Maybe this will make me prefer parallel.

 

[TitaniumDust]

@TitaniumDust
Any chance you were plugging into the red x?
(it looks yellow in this photo, but mine is white)

Yes I did notice that. Here is a (blurry) pic I took to show Kingwa. The unit was tucked away in a corner and difficult to get a good pic.
I tried both S/PDIF output ports with and without adapters, with both BNC and RCA coax cables.

 

[Wynnytsky]

@TitaniumDust
I see your spdif input is red. That's oddly inconsistent.

 

[Currawong]

@TitaniumDust
I see your spdif input is red. That's oddly inconsistent.

More than likely, they purchased a large quantity of L/R jack pairs, and rather than use just one color, use both, so that they don't have a leftover.

 

[FredA]

Yep. They had to produce.much more then expected. The di20 is a big hit.

 

[LOUD]

How much voltage are you sending into your ISO Regen? Have you tried removing it entirely?

Wynny -

Thanks for writing. I tried removing the iso regen this morning and going direct. The sound definitely changed but the static seemed to be there as much or maybe even more. I didn’t listen for that long and put the iso back in.

my setup is Mac mini With the Uptone fan and power supply mod. I am powering the Mac and the iso regen using a HD Plex power supply. The iso regen is connected to the variable output set at 8.5 volts.

the static has changed in severity over time and has in the last couple of days receded more in the background...but is annoying as hell. Perceived as a lack of clarity especially on vocals with the ‘s’ sound...

I’m at around 250 hours now and i’m trying to be patient but I am feeling that I would gladly pay an additional cost in order to buy a broken in unit and avoid the anxiety....

thanks again,

Lou D


I’m

@TitaniumDust
Any chance you were plugging into the red x?
(it looks yellow in this photo, but mine is white)

 

[FredA]

Wynny -

Thanks for writing. I tried removing the iso regen this morning and going direct. The sound definitely changed but the static seemed to be there as much or maybe even more. I didn’t listen for that long and put the iso back in.

my setup is Mac mini With the Uptone fan and power supply mod. I am powering the Mac and the iso regen using a HD Plex power supply. The iso regen is connected to the variable output set at 8.5 volts.

the static has changed in severity over time and has in the last couple of days receded more in the background...but is annoying as hell. Perceived as a lack of clarity especially on vocals with the ‘s’ sound...

I’m at around 250 hours now and i’m trying to be patient but I am feeling that I would gladly pay an additional cost in order to buy a broken in unit and avoid the anxiety....

thanks again,

Lou

Hi Lou.

How constant is it, a pop once in a while? Do you do other things on the pc at the same time? Do you use a playback sw?

 

[Wynnytsky]

@LOUD
Did you say you got the same results over COAX?

Do you have a channel test track that can confirm the DI20 isn't swapping the left/right? If so, you have to change this...

On the Mac you can pull up the Amanero device properties, and I presume the hardware buffer is defaulted to 50ms?

I see so many people with issues that require them to reboot the DI or the DAC. At no time has mine ever farted. The SU1 on the other hand had that nasty pop when I switched sample rates.

 

[LOUD]

Hi Lou.

How constant is it, a pop once in a while? Do you do other things on the pc at the same time? Do you use a playback sw?

Hi Fred,

thanks for writing. t

@LOUD
Did you say you got the same results over COAX?

Do you have a channel test track that can confirm the DI20 isn't swapping the left/right? If so, you have to change this...


On the Mac you can pull up the Amanero device properties, and I presume the hardware buffer is defaulted to 50ms?

I see so many people with issues that require them to reboot the DI or the DAC. At no time has mine ever farted. The SU1 on the other hand had that nasty pop when I switched sample rates.

Hi Lou.

How constant is it, a pop once in a while? Do you do other things on the pc at the same time? Do you use a playback sw?

Sorry - it is a constant background noise - a lack of clarity in chords and voices in the treble frequencies - especiallynoticed on violins, piano and the human voice. It does seem to go away from time to time but comes back again.

 

[FredA]

Strange, but one thing for sure is the DI can sound bad during the first 300-400 hours, but i would not qualify the sound as having static noise in the background. If at time you feel the sound is perfect, this will cure by itself.

 

[Wynnytsky]

Strange, but one thing for sure is the DI can sound bad during the first 300-400 hours, but i would not qualify the sound as having static noise in the background. If at time you feel the sound is perfect, this will cure by itself.

I wouldn't get his hopes up. What was wrong with your first DI? Display issues, or static?

@LOUD
What interface were you using before the DI20HE? Also i2s?
If you already tried diff wires then the only think left is to try another computer, and if you hear noise, ship that puppy back.

 

[TitaniumDust]

Hey guys, I just wanted to provide a quick update today.

TL;DR: It is possible that my problems were due to a Windows 10 issue.

Long Story: I hooked up my new Bifrost 2 DAC today, I rebooted the U16 and the Bifrost, and I was getting no sound, just like before. After unplugging/rebooting everything, still no sound. I unplugged and re-plugged the USB cable at the PC end, still no sound. Device Manager looked fine. I then rebooted my PC twice in a row, and sound miraculously appeared. This means that it is fairly likely that I have run into some sort of Windows issue, possibly stemming from recent updates. Obviously I can no longer confirm anything as I don't have the DI-20 anymore. I am now off to perform a clean Windows install. The good news is that I did manage to iron out the quirks I was having with the U16, so I think I'm just gonna step back from Head-Fi for a while so I don't screw things up more, and also so I'm not tempted to spend any more money. LOL!!!! U16 + Bifrost 2 is still a killer combo and I may look into getting my feet wet in the high-end audiophile world some time in the future. The DI-20 would be right at the top of the list.