[BlackstoneJD]

Note Jriver might have some features designed to avoid this. Like "play silence to avoid clicks/pops".

 

[music_man]

as i said i have a long usb cable. a "power supply" has fixed that. i used the cd transport and had no issues with discs. i think some of you have other issues than i did. however they could stand to update the streamlength driver nonetheless.
 
a lot of this issues may be with the source and/or files though.

 

[KmanChu]

I've played with this issue of ticks and pops for quite a while with both Ayre products and finally just learned to accept it. Now that I think about it, I briefly owned another Sabre and Streamlength dac (BMC PureDAC) and it also had similar behavior when switching between sample rates or to and from DSD. I figured it was just part of the USB implementation or some sort of internal switching with the dac chip. Perhaps it is specific to my computer. It would be quite odd though because I have made sure that it is the only USB device on that controller. Sometimes the click doesn't happen at all, sometimes it is fairly soft and non-offensive, and very occassionally it is fairly hard and makes me think that shouldn't be like that. Right now I am using the stock usb cable that shipped with the Codex, although I have used others.
 
I have JRiver and Roon set to run some silence of ahead of tracks to allow the software to synchronize. I had switched to Roon because of the excellent Tidal integration, but I now notice that JRiver is better behaved than Roon. However, some of the behavior persists, particularly switching from DSD to PCM. Looking at the sample rate display, it occurs exactly when the sample rate changes on the display.  I think it is related to the DoP implementation because it occurs at the end of DSD tracks when the display transitions from "64" to "176", when the DAC recognizes the DoP packets are no longer coming.

 

[cygnusx]

I've pretty much given up for now. Just waiting for Ayre to respond back. I've left both voice mail and email but no reply yet. Also, now the socket for the power in the back of the codex is lose...it wigglies back and forth a bit. I really want like to have this thing looked at. Let's see. The good news is that it still sounds great once it gets going.

 

[music_man]

i seem to have fixed my issues. i think the sabre will just do that switching sample rates but it can be eliminated mostly. as for the socket you mean the socket is loose in the metal chassis? if so that is bad and must be serviced. otherwise i have lots of power cables that will wiggle "in" the socket but that is really the fault of the cable. these things are very heavy often times. i hope everyone gets it sorted out, lives with it or moves on because otherwise it is a very good dac.
 
i wonder how he qx-5 twenty will fair. it would be a shame if ayre is just having assembly issues all of the sudden.

 

[cygnusx]

I got a response back from Ayre.  According to Michael @ Ayre the engineers took a look and concluded that the Codex making a sound while switching between different bitrate songs (switching in the middle of songs) is normal.   According to Ayre, they could have designed the Codex to eliminate this sound completely, but choose not too.   Note, a faint sound can be heard even when the songs finish and play in order, but it's definitely less noticeable (Ayre says that this is normal as well).   At this point, Ayre does not have plans to address the crackling and popping sounds (apparently, there are technical limitations in the design).  I suspect this was a design trade off to keep the price low.  Who really knows, I got an answer back and I'll live with it.  For me the sound quality, for the price of the DAC, completely out weights the popping sound that I get when using headphones.  It's not the answer I wanted to hear especially if they are promoting the Codex as a headphone dac/amp, but I can live with it.  The sound quality is just too good to consider something else, unless I go significantly higher in price.        

 

[cygnusx]

Lastly, the power socket chassis in the back of the Codex popping in and out slightly when replacing your power cable, apparently is normal as well.  

 

[music_man]

the power cable can be normal with any iec. the standard spec is rather loose on the socket because they are not sure what all cable manufacturers will provide. some fit tighter than others. having the anaconda hx hanging out the back of it as i do would certainly not be fair to complain about. the cable weighs more than the codex. i understand this is not what you are doing but that you can trust is rather normal. even big brands like sony es the cable in the package is not always tight.
 
my issue was cable length so i powered it. it could be your source, their drivers or a bad. unit. honestly i am not pleased with their answer. if you are that is good. i have heard $300 dac's with the chip that don't do that and neither does my codex. they cut cost but not quality imo. i actually think the codex is their product that is perhaps not overpriced. often beating dac's four times it's price to my ears. "twenty" products may have competition at lower price points. nonetheless both sound very good to me. this happens sometimes with anything. i am sorry it has to you. other than an outright failure many manufacturers will provide answers like that. i do not think they are correct because not everyone's codex exhibits this behavior afaik. there are too many factors involved which is probably why an answer like that was provided. however i think they just shot themselves in the foot to say it is inherit in the design. i am not convinced that it is. 

 

[austinpop]

  I got a response back from Ayre.  According to Michael @ Ayre the engineers took a look and concluded that the Codex making a sound while switching between different bitrate songs (switching in the middle of songs) is normal.   According to Ayre, they could have designed the Codex to eliminate this sound completely, but choose not too.   Note, a faint sound can be heard even when the songs finish and play in order, but it's definitely less noticeable (Ayre says that this is normal as well).   At this point, Ayre does not have plans to address the crackling and popping sounds (apparently, there are technical limitations in the design).  I suspect this was a design trade off to keep the price low.  Who really knows, I got an answer back and I'll live with it.  For me the sound quality, for the price of the DAC, completely out weights the popping sound that I get when using headphones.  It's not the answer I wanted to hear especially if they are promoting the Codex as a headphone dac/amp, but I can live with it.  The sound quality is just too good to consider something else, unless I go significantly higher in price.        

 
Truly disappointing to hear the "oh, well" attitude of Ayre to this problem. I don't consider slight pop/ticks to be acceptable. $1900 may be a low price point for them, but it is high-end for many people, and no one wants to buy a product that they feel is compromised.
 
I was hoping for many years of Codex enjoyment, but now I'm not so sure.

 

[cygnusx]

austinpop, btw did you hear back from Alex? Since I use it mainly as main DAC and the issue is primarily when I use headphones, it's not so bad. I feel for you guys using it as your main headphone amp and you hear it all the time.

 

[austinpop]

@austinpop, btw did you hear back from Alex? Since I use it mainly as main DAC and the issue is primarily when I use headphones, it's not so bad. I feel for you guys using it as your main headphone amp and you hear it all the time.

 
I did. I mentioned it back in post 493.
 
Luckily I haven't really heard the pop/tick issue with sample rate changes on PCM files, since I don't really listen to music that way. I imagine if you have a playlist with tracks at different rate/resolutions, it would get annoying. I might try that experiment one of these days.
 
No, my issue is on DSD, as I explained in that post.
 
It sounds like the issue is just more noticeable when using headphones, not so much using the Codex as a headphone amp. I'm sure it would be just as audible if you used the Codex as a DAC feeding a separate headphone amp. I will find out more once my Liquid Gold arrives!

 

[austinpop]

Let me elaborate a bit on my previous post.
 
I can accept Ayre's lack of motivation to fix my DSD problem, as it appears to be as much an issue with SACD extraction tools than anything else, so it's a rather narrow use case.
 
The issue with pop/ticks when switching sample rate or resolution to me seems to be a more egregious issue, since the use case - playing back sequential tracks with differing sample rates in a playlist - can hardly be considered a corner case.
 
While it is true that some upstream tools like JRiver can suppress these pop/ticks, I don't think Ayre should assume everyone uses such tools upstream. This should be a feature of their DAC.

 

[music_man]

austinpop, +1! pretty much what i said. $1,900 is end game to a lot of people. it is unfair of them imo. I am guessing but i bet they stand behind a "twenty" component better than the codex. which is completely unfair. they should not have made it if they felt it is not worthy of their time. i do not think it is budget at all. sure, budget for ayre but not by real world standards. the fact remains it is a huge bargain. regardless of ayre sees it that way. of course i cannot speak for ayre, just guessing.

 

[cygnusx]

austinpop, +2.   I agree with you guys, but not much we can do.  I will give Michael a follow up call.  Some times I wonder if these guys are actually in touch with real users.  

 

[austinpop]

austinpop, +2.   I agree with you guys, but not much we can do.  I will give Michael a follow up call.  Some times I wonder if these guys are actually in touch with real users.  

Yup, all we can do is express our dissatisfaction, and ultimately depending on the level of dissatisfaction, vote with our checkbooks.

Personally, I'm still happy enough with the Codex, but I am watching the whole MQA and Tidal space. If MQA actually takes off - and that's a big if - I may be on the market again. But I've been around the block enough times with new tech to ignore the hype and wait and see.