[Bostonears]

  Having a lot of issues after updating to windows 10 with the DACmini CX.
 
Sound randomly cuts off for short to long periods of time, freezing up any other tasks until after it's been restored. Static noises happen randomly no matter what my latency is set to, be it opening an image file or closing a browser, it'll crackle and pop from time to time.
 
Any chance of a new driver coming out =/?

Have you contacted CEntrance directly about a new driver for Windows 10? Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the existing CEntrance Universal Driver? (I'm planning to install Windows 10 on one of my PCs, and want to know beforehand if it will be a problem for the DACmini.)

 

[Adamora]

  Have you contacted CEntrance directly about a new driver for Windows 10? Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the existing CEntrance Universal Driver? (I'm planning to install Windows 10 on one of my PCs, and want to know beforehand if it will be a problem for the DACmini.)

 
I'm afraid to do so, due to any driver related inquiries I've made in the past years to different vendors ending up with a (It's probably your computer) excuse.
 
That aside, the crackles aren't really killing me at the moment (Very brief and infrequent), and the sound cutting off has only happened once in the last 2 weeks.

 

[Armaegis]

   
I'm afraid to do so, due to any driver related inquiries I've made in the past years to different vendors ending up with a (It's probably your computer) excuse.
 
That aside, the crackles aren't really killing me at the moment (Very brief and infrequent), and the sound cutting off has only happened once in the last 2 weeks.

 
It doesn't hurt to ask at least.
 
Unfortunately, random usb quibbles are par for the course when it comes to computer audio. On my laptop I had all sorts of weird glitches when I was running Vista, then when I upgraded to Win7 everything worked beautifully. I'm hesitant to try 10, so I'm waiting to see how that pans out in the next couple months.
 
Some other things to try:
- uninstall the reinstall the current driver (instead of just reinstalling on top)
- uninstall drivers from other audio devices you don't use anymore (I don't know why, but this has cleared up other issues for me before)
- check the power settings of the usb ports in device manager, give it priority and turn off power saving

 

[Fungus]

I just realised how much better the dacport lx is than any other portable dacs I've owned when I just sold off my ipod and 1st gen solo (used with my jds labs c5. I could never really hear much improvement from listening straight out of my lg g3 except a tad more bass and power due to the increase in out put voltage. 
By swapped out with the dac lx, the increase in sound stage, resolution and bass is much more noticeable.  

 

[Chu]

  Have you contacted CEntrance directly about a new driver for Windows 10? Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the existing CEntrance Universal Driver? (I'm planning to install Windows 10 on one of my PCs, and want to know beforehand if it will be a problem for the DACmini.)

 
Are there 3rd party drivers for this DAC?  I've been researching it since I am in need of a new DAC/AMP, and from what I can tell doesn't doesn't it just rely on USB Audio Class 1 support in the OS?
 
Speaking of, what are all of your guys opinion about buying a DAC in 2015 that doesn't have USB Audio Class 2 support?  I am in need of a new integrated DAC/AMP for a workstation, and was putting together a list of all candidates I should research.  I dismissed this particular amp because it appeared to only support USB Audio Class 1 -- but it seems to be incredibly popular on that 3rd party site everyone is referencing despite that.

 

[citylights]

  I know I just posted but something is seriously wrong with my unit/ ac adapter. I tried plugging and replugging the ac adapter and when I accidentally touched the metal casing the adapter started to spark.. There is now a serious burning smell and my unit is now blemished from the sparks..
 
 

Something similar to you. Just received a couple of DACMini CXs with 1 ohm and variable output from the latest MassDrop. Only opened up one so far, but huge sparks each time I plug in the AC adapter (fortunately haven't touched the surrounding metal yet).
 
In my case no hiss, but the variable output mod seems not to be working at all: at volume 0, line out to the power amp gave my neighbours a full wake up call. USB source also periodically drops out; with ASIO driver much worse.
 
About to reach out to CEntrance.

 

[Rynsin]

 
Something similar to you. Just received a couple of DACMini CXs with 1 ohm and variable output from the latest MassDrop. Only opened up one so far, but huge sparks each time I plug in the AC adapter (fortunately haven't touched the surrounding metal yet).
 
In my case no hiss, but the variable output mod seems not to be working at all: at volume 0, line out to the power amp gave my neighbours a full wake up call. USB source also periodically drops out; with ASIO driver much worse.
 
About to reach out to CEntrance.

 
 
I don't get sparks when I plug mine in (MassDrop, 1ohm + variable as well), but it'll spark a little bit if I touch the power cord terminator to the metal frame. A little scary the first time it happened! After de-stressing the power cable (it was a little stretched under my desk), the issue seemed to go away -- might work for you too?
 
I haven't had any issues with the USB drivers on the audio side, been using Windows 10. BUT -- when I turn off my computer, the DACmini sometimes won't switch away from USB mode when I hit the toggle. I imagine I'm being outsmarted by "smart selection" -- haven't actually looked in the manual yet, as there might be an easy solution. It might also be the crummy USB cable I'm using, but I' haven't investigated fully yet.

 

[Adamora]

Mine sparks like a flint on a lighter.

Briefly though.

I keep it on 24/7 now.

 

[Armaegis]

Geez guys, why not use a power bar with a switch that you can toggle instead of fiddling with the cord and accidentally shorting the power to chassis?

 

[zilch0md]

^ Good idea!  

 

[yellowbirdfly]

.

 

[Acknown3]

Anyone have issues where changing the volume knob produces really loud static in the left driver/speaker? It only happens while changing the volume, but it has me worried.

 

[Armaegis]

  Anyone have issues where changing the volume knob produces really loud static in the left driver/speaker? It only happens while changing the volume, but it has me worried.

 
Scratchy pots are not uncommon and it happens to virtually all analog volume controls at one point or another. This is typically due to dust and wear on the contact elements inside the pot itself. If it's not too bad, shut the power off and do a few complete sweeps of the pot to try and brush and particles away from the main area. A shot of deoxit plus sweeps is also doable if you can open up the cover (just spraying the surface of the pot near the knob joint should be ok, unless you're feeling adventurous enough to open the pot itself but it's not recommended)

 

[Bostonears]

This stuff from Radio Shack also works well for cleaning dirty volume pots, and you might be able to find it locally.

 

[Armaegis]

Any electronics shop should have some kind of contact electrical cleaner. I believe there are even specialized types for pots.