[Armaegis]

Hmm that's too bad. I'm guessing it's because there's a digital control board in there, which goes a bit wonky when usb is disconnected. The coax input has no effect because the communication is only one way. The only workaround I can see is to use a usb-spdif bridge to utilize the other digital input.

 

[Koolpep]

If I unplug the usb from my computer (PC) while the Dacmini is on (any input), then it freezes. If it's in standby mode, it's usually ok for me.

Was the same on my Mac.

 

[thatonenoob]

Hmm that's too bad. I'm guessing it's because there's a digital control board in there, which goes a bit wonky when usb is disconnected. The coax input has no effect because the communication is only one way. The only workaround I can see is to use a usb-spdif bridge to utilize the other digital input.

I see. Was wondering if there was something wrong with my unit but it looks to be more of a design problem than anything.

 

[Jhir]

Hello,
 
My first post and I have a question regarding the dacmini cx and turntable setup. So I'm trying to see if I could hook up my dacmini cx to the turntable via TT->phono preamp->dacmini cx->Lcd-2 and, uh, I can't seem to get it working. Pretty sure I have all the cables hooked up correctly. Am I missing something here?
 
Relevant notes would included that the dacmini cx may or may not have the 1ohm mod and variable output. Bought from another user from supposedly the massdrop sale a year or two ago but can't verify. Any help appreciated.

 

[Armaegis]

You're not giving us much to work on here. Can you verify all the components work separately on their own? Can you take a picture of all the hookups?

 

[Jhir]

Right! I did check that all components did work possible exception being the phono preamp. I mean it turns on and all but I don't know any other way to check if it works.
 
Photos: http://imgur.com/a/cC0gL

 

[Armaegis]

So... how about just plugging the turntable directly into the Dacmini? It won't sound right (and you'll have to turn it up), but at least it lets you rule out the phono-pre as a culprit.

 

[Jhir]

Alright, I did just that and you're right. I did get the music through to the dacmini cx directly if albeit static-y and quiet. So phono preamp is fine? Wouldn't it suggest the opposite?

 

[Armaegis]

Well if sound passes through without the prono-pre in the chain, that would suggest that it's your phono-pre that's at fault. I don't suppose you have a different one to try?

 

[Jhir]

guess I have to send it back to the manufacturer and see if there's any problem with it.

 

[terlingua]

   
I agree entirely with Mike/zilch -- I've used the HD600s with my 1-ohm modded DACmini, it's great. 10-ohms is just too much resistance. In general, unless you have a headphone with crazy, 30db swing like the HD800, you'll want the amp and DAC to have a flat frequency response. 

 
Agreed, I have HD650 and stock 10-ohms. HD650 are not so loud on 10-ohms output mod, sometimes I'm listening on 90% volume and I could go more... I wish there was a gain switch somewhere on the back...

 

[jisu]

I've been skimming this thread for the past few days and quite a number of people have the same issue of the input selector freezing under various circumstances but all related to the USB connection.
 
For me, mine freezes when my PC goes into sleep mode.
 
I spoke to Michael Goodman and he suggested an independently powered USB hub, which I'm not so keen on.

He also mentioned that the DACmini is discontinued and this issue will be resolved in the 'next version' *hint!*
 
In the meantime, has anyone actually come up with a working fix to the input selector freezing?

 

[Armaegis]

  In the meantime, has anyone actually come up with a working fix to the input selector freezing?

 
The only thing that works for me is to shut off/unplug.
 
To be fair though, the Dacmini is not unique in this problem. I have had many usb dacs that glitch out due to sleep mode. It seems to happen most with those that also have external power units. I suspect (but could be entirely wrong) that this is because the usb receiver chip still receives its power directly from the usb cable while the rest of the dac has its own power supply. So upon sleep mode part of the data chain goes poof, the rest of the dac glitches out, and booting the computer back up doesn't do anything because you can't restart a broken connection. So you need to hard reset to get it back working again.

 

[jisu]

That's what I suspected, just wondering if anyone has gone the USB hub route with any success.

 

[Armaegis]

Shutting off the power-saving mode might help.
 
I rarely have any issues with mine these days. I always move the switch to standby before shutting my computer down, and that seems to skirt the problem entirely.