[ADD]

I am not having much luck with electronics lately. My three day old DACMagic now sounds like a coffee percolator and is going back to be replaced.

Now, my 4 month old Essence has gone bad. The headphone section and the DAC section are fine, but the analogue line-in has gone crazy.

I have my Creek tuner connected to the Essence analogue line in so I can listen to the radio with Dolby Headphone. I was wondering why over the last month or so I have been having a lot of trouble with the balance between the left and right channels. The right channel has slowly been decreasing in volume to the point where I had to adjust the playback volume controls (from 76 in each channel to about 73 in the left and 76 in the right).

Over the few days it has gotton worse and worse to the point where even if I have the left channel at 61 and the right at 76, I can't get it balanced right.

Thinking the tuner might be stuffed, I connected a DVD player to the Essence line input and played some test tones into the line-in and recorded the output with Acoustica. Surely enough, the line input is now 10 dB lower in the left channel than the right. Listening without any DSP functionality with my CX300 headphones, it is like the right channel is completely broken, such is the discrepancy.

So then I reloaded the drivers - nothing. Then re-loaded Windows. Nothing.

I guess this also explains why even when I did have the channels "balanced", the stereo effect sounded distinctly wierd - worse and worse as time went by (it always sounded oddly panned to the left, and changing the balance only does so much).

One thing I hate about returning computer stuff - typically you are without it for three months here in Australia. I guess I will have to buy another one and then when I finally get a replacement in December 2056, it will be a spare (for my musuem). Hang on, I will be dead from senile decay by then anyway

 

[leeperry]

known issue

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Recommended Input Clamping Circuit to ASUS Xonar R&D Team

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Speaker hiss when connecting to line-in

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Forum- Protect the Line In of your Xonar from overloading

I'll never use the line-in, I can tell you that!

I even planned on doing RMAA measurements, but that's a no-no..

 

[ROBSCIX]

@ADD, Sounds like you just have a bad card. The posted information, has nothing to do with issues based on normal line-level signals. Just get a replacment card.

@Lee, Did you happen to read any of the informaiton you linked to?
As it seems you didn't read any of it or you didn't understand any of it.

Such As:
Quoted From Fotios:
It is obvious that (against my first estimation) the ASUS Xonar designers they made a right implementation in the buffers of ADC converter. A most accurate calculation, indicates that a safe margin for the Line In signal it is: 5,7Vpp / Av = 5,7Vpp / 0,5 = 11,4Vpp = 4Vrms.

Practically speaking now, i don't believe that the ADC converter it is so sensitive in damage for 0,3Vpp more than the 5,7Vpp given as the input limit level from Cirrus. From expertise, i know that most ICs can sustain from 0,5V to 1V more level from its nominal without danger of damage. According this, i believe that the failure of Line In of Xonar Essence STX it is caused from something else, and not from overloading. In my case, in my first card the problem started from a shorted RC4580 (this of right channel of Line In).

I use the line inputs all the time on my STX and they have worked find since I first got the card. RMAA tests also have worked fine.

 

[leeperry]

you might have a point there, fotios is greek and his posts are full of typos/grammarry errors and he never makes paragraphs...this is very hard to decipher sometimes..

anyway, some line-in's do die...and I dont want that

 

[Shahrose]

Sounds like a bad card. I've never had any problems with mine and I've used the card for hours daily over a few months. Admittedly, I feel these kinds of problems are rare in sound cards in general. You'll just need to RMA it.

 

[ADD]

I have an RM number so I will be sending it back tomorrow. They did not even have a clue what I was talking about, so I guess they gave up trying to figure out what I meant and just gave me a number. But this being Australia, it will probably be months before I hear anything back, and only then after endless chasing.

Since I can bear to be without one, I bought another today and everything is fine again. Hopefully I will ultimately receive a replacement and that can then be a much-needed spare.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADD /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have an RM number so I will be sending it back tomorrow. They did not even have a clue what I was talking about, so I guess they gave up trying to figure out what I meant and just gave me a number. But this being Australia, it will probably be months before I hear anything back, and only then after endless chasing. Since I can bear to be without one, I bought another today and everything is fine again. Hopefully I will ultimately receive a replacement and that can then be a much-needed spare.

Just get a new card. I used my line inputs on the STX a great deal and never had any trouble.

 

[ADD]

Looks like the replacement card has developed a similar fault. This time around I am starting to get severe distortion from the line input like a mis-tuned radio. Now it happens whether it is the line input selected or a file is played on the PC.

 

[MrOutside]

how did you like the dacmagic by the way? I have one too and I quite like it for the price