[rasmushorn]

Yes my hope is that even if it's more or less the equal of the Mojo that it possesses some kind of a special synergy with the Zen. As good as everyone says it is I'm looking forward to trying it in my room stereo as a dac and preamp

You will not be disappointed with the DAC and it has a PRE-out, that the Mojo does not have, that sounds VERY open and transparent!

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

Have anyone dealt with EarMen warranty? I'm hearing some negative service

 

[397324]

Hi. I received my Tr-Amp and Sparrow today. Firstly, the volume pot makes a noise when turned. This can't be normal? Secondly, I can only get sound out of either using Foobar and setting it to the correct output. Despite having the laptop set to XMOS USB Audio output and the volume turned up, nothing else works, YouTube, MPG's, anything. Plugging my iFi iDSD Signature back in, everything works fine.

On the same laptop, I have used a Questyle QP1R, an IBasso DX200 and a couple of FiiO DAP's as DAC's and all have performed faultlessly. Any ideas?

 

[rasmushorn]

Hi. I received my Tr-Amp and Sparrow today. Firstly, the volume pot makes a noise when turned. This can't be normal? Secondly, I can only get sound out of either using Foobar and setting it to the correct output. Despite having the laptop set to XMOS USB Audio output and the volume turned up, nothing else works, YouTube, MPG's, anything. Plugging my iFi iDSD Signature back in, everything works fine.

It has to be something with the sound output setting. Is Foobar/Bitperfect using TR-Amp in exclusive mode? Then you need to close foobar before any other apps can use it.

The volume pot makes a noise. It is the same on mine I have had other amps with the same design do the same.

What do you think of the sound when it plays from Foobar?

 

[397324]

Thanks for the reply. The iDSD plays sound from any source with FooBar still open, as does my Fiio M11 Pro in DAC mode. All three amps were using Kernal Streaming in FooBar.

I've read lots of reviews on the TR-Amp and no one has mentioned the noise on the volume pot.

 

[397324]

I've reinstalled the XMOS USB Audio drivers and now everything works as it should for both the TR-Amp and Sparrow. I haven't done anything differently, so no idea what this issue was.

 

[rasmushorn]

I've read lots of reviews on the TR-Amp and no one has mentioned the noise on the volume pot.

I Think most “analog” (no relays clicking or stepped attenuators) volume pots I have had, have had some crackling noise when turned. So I didn’t pay any attention to it. But my TR-Amp has that as well. What matters is that once the right volume is set the sound is clean.

I had another amplifier years ago where it almost removed the problem by turning the volume from min to max (without music playing) for some time. I tried that with the TR-Amp but it didn’t seem to help here.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

So you get noise every time you change the Volume? Is that fixable?

Thats a deal-breaker, for me at least.

 

[milkdudd]

So you get noise every time you change the Volume? Is that fixable?

Thats a deal-breaker, for me at least.

I believe in the expression "great minds think alike" but in this case great minds couldn't be farther apart. I've only had my Tr-amp for one day so it's way too early to be certain about it, but after about 2 hours of listening I'm extremely impressed. When I first power up I do it with the volume turned all the way down and only one time I give it a good spin to get to normal listening levels. After that I only give it tiny spins to fine-tune volume. I only hear the static on that large adjustment I do at the beginning. Based on the way people described it I thought it would be extremely loud to point to the point of being punishing, but to me that's not the case at all. I fine tune the volume often, and don't hear any static during that. When using it for the first time as a preamp in my stereo system I heard a fairly loud crack out of the speakers when I powered it up. That concerns me way more than any slight static I hear when adjusting the volume. My early impressions are that other than the lack of a gain setting I don't see anything to complain about for $249

 

[397324]

So you get noise every time you change the Volume? Is that fixable?

Thats a deal-breaker, for me at least.

Hi. Yes, every time the volume is adjusted, you get a sort of crackling noise. If there is music playing it's inaudible, but it doesn't instil confidence in the quality of components used. I've never had this issue in 30 years in this hobby.

 

[397324]

I believe in the expression "great minds think alike" but in this case great minds couldn't be farther apart. I've only had my Tr-amp for one day so it's way too early to be certain about it, but after about 2 hours of listening I'm extremely impressed. When I first power up I do it with the volume turned all the way down and only one time I give it a good spin to get to normal listening levels. After that I only give it tiny spins to fine-tune volume. I only hear the static on that large adjustment I do at the beginning. Based on the way people described it I thought it would be extremely loud to point to the point of being punishing, but to me that's not the case at all. I fine tune the volume often, and don't hear any static during that. When using it for the first time as a preamp in my stereo system I heard a fairly loud crack out of the speakers when I powered it up. That concerns me way more than any slight static I hear when adjusting the volume. My early impressions are that other than the lack of a gain setting I don't see anything to complain about for $249

Hi. I get that crack at exactly the same volume on my iFi iDSD Signature, so it must be a thing with volume controls that also act as on/off switches and not a quality issue as I suspect with the static. Your workaround for the static issue is a good one but would like a technical explanation as to why it exists to give me confidence that it is working as intended, as it's never been mentioned in any review I've seen or read.

 

[Ichos]

So you get noise every time you change the Volume? Is that fixable?

Thats a deal-breaker, for me at least.

Mine also , has this "scratching" noise while turning the pot.

 

[397324]

I think EarMen needs to clarify is this is normal and not a frequent fault.

 

[rasmushorn]

I will not be sending mine back. I have had the same thing for other analog volume potmeters, for more expensive products as well, and it is not unusual but of course they could have chosen another design but that would make it more expensive. It does not bother me at all.

 

[Ichos]

Customer support told me that it may disappear after extended use.