[Stereoduck]

Quote:

 I have sent back my FP to "it.box" for a replacement and it arrived to him yesterday. 

 
 
Well, at least the seller appears to be a decent guy.. 

 

[LaRzZa]

The seller is a very nice guy and has very good communication so he is a good seller. I may even buy more things from him. 

 

[rickdohc]

Tried another usb cable, another plug adapter, in another computer and having the same problem.
i just mailed him to ask if knows what should be the problem, cause it will be very expensive to send the unit from Panama-HK.

 

[rickdohc]

Just in case som1 thinks i dont have a FP...
 

 

[LaRzZa]

I believe you, hope it.box have a good answer what you should do with your FP. I know it is expensive to send back the FP and i was lucky this time that my shipping was not expensive. 

 

[rickdohc]

Quote:

I believe you, hope it.box have a good answer what you should do with your FP. I know it is expensive to send back the FP and i was lucky this time that my shipping was not expensive. 

LOL.. lucky you.  i am not sending this unit back,  i am gonna find a good electronic shop so they can check it. also i am gonna take it home and try some speakers to check if i have the same problem.
 
for now, what i did was configure the balance feature in my windows configuration,  and i am using it,  sounds very nice.. very nice, just watched a movie and WOW!

 

[rickdohc]

Update
 
Without music playing,  when i raise the pot (volume), i am hearing some "scratching" noise on my left ear.  there is noise when i move the pot.
 
While Music is playing
Starting from 0 (volume), i start slowly rising the volume, results:
 
 
At  3% (out of 100% max of volume), i am hearing only on the left side there is nothing on the right side, 
At 5% of volume,  both sides are matched.
From 6% and on, its imbalanced. stays imabalenced up to where i cant hear anymore because its to loud.
The left side volume is lower from 6% and up, the same side i hear a scratching noise while moving the pot without music on.
 
 
Seems like a bad pot?  i will keep you guys updated.

 

[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

Without music playing,  when i raise the pot (volume), i am hearing some "scratching" noise on my left ear.  there is noise when i move the pot.

 
It may be dirty. I think a product called "contact cleaner" is designed to fix this.
 
 

Without music playing,  when i raise the pot (volume), i am hearing some "scratching" noise on my left ear.  there is noise when i move the pot.
 
While Music is playing
Starting from 0 (volume), i start slowly rising the volume, results:
 
At  3% (out of 100% max of volume), i am hearing only on the left side there is nothing on the right side, 
At 5% of volume,  both sides are matched.
From 6% and on, its imbalanced. stays imabalenced up to where i cant hear anymore because its to loud.

 
That almost the opposite of the symptom I described (so I wasn't much help).
 
It does sound, from a non-technician's point of view, like a bad pot.

 

[kiteki]

For the low price and number of features, made in China, you can expect they'd use lower quality parts here and there, if there is a channel imbalance at lower volumes, try changing the volume on your computer to 50%, so you can increase the volume on the FiPh?
 
Using it as a DAC alone you can still connect it to an external amplifier.
 
 
For the record here is the no-name DIY type DAC I bought before I discovered the FiPh, from seller along1986090 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Finished-CS4398-CS8416-USB-DAC-With-Transformer-case-/120769856777
 
 
Today I tried the internal USB chip (CM102) directly to my computer, instead of my more advanced setup using the Musiland Monitor 02 US Dragon and a fancy coax cable to my DAC's coax input (CS8416), usually with upsampling set to 192kHz in the Musiland control panel.
 
I don't like the DAC section of the Musiland Dragon very much and not the headphone amp in it either, so it simply became an exclusive USB->coax bridge for me.  Note, the Musilands are according to some views the cheapest 'high-end' USB->coax devices.
 
 
So in summary it's like this
 
1. Laptop -> USB cable -> CM102 -> CS4398
 
2. Laptop -> USB cable -> Musiland Dragon (FPGA) -> coax cable -> CS8416 -> CS4398
 
 
Listening with an external amplifier via the RCA jacks line-out, into an Audio Technica ATH-ES10 with velour pads.  Line-out changed to OPA1612.  Using a fancy USB cable too.
 
 
Number 1 has more 'presence' in the sound while number 2 is a little bit fresher like menthol.  Number 1 sounds a little bit compressed while number 2 has more 'emptiness' in the sound and seperation, however the emptiness almost makes it feel like number 1 has more realism at times.
 
The actual sound quality level, like tone, appears like it's exactly the same.
 
 
Tried with Sony SA3000 and felt the same differences.  Switched back and forth at least 20 times on each.
 
 
So from what I can tell the CM102 chip conveys the exact same sound quality, only with some slight differences in 'presence', 'compression' (or confinement) and realism (sensation of higher), versus a slightly fresher, emptier and more spatial sound from the Musiland / coax.
 
 
In joy factor alone, the CM102 is fine, I actually like how it sounds.  The usb->coax Dragon and OPA627 on the line-out have the more ultimate sound, which I'd use if I made a sound system in a cinema or nightclub, or something like that, though I like the joy factor in the sound of CM102 and AD797 on the line-out.  Likewise in my amplifier I respect the sound of OPA627, which seems like the least digital sounding chip there is, though I still think some other chips sound nicer.

 

[Kost]

I received my Firephoenix DAC-02 in the mail on the 25th. I plugged it in and listened to it for about 30 seconds, just long enough to test for a channel imbalance. I figured that since everyone else that received a lemon had this problem, it was probably fine. 100 hours of burn in later.....
 
Well.. Long story short I indeed received a lemon. I wish I hadn't spent so much time comparing it to my legitimate dacs, because all i really had to do to see it was a piece of junk was compare it with my computer's onboard audio. (No, I don't have a sound card) The DAC sounded "Closed in", like the music was recorded in someone's closet. It also sounded muddy and kind of funky in a way difficult to describe. It sounded awful on my HD650's so for most of the audition I only used my M50s.
 
All in all I'm pretty disappointed. I guess my dad is getting a 2TB HD this year. I just hope I can return it. =(

 

[kiteki]

That sucks, I wonder what's wrong with it.
 
 
If it's any conciliation, my CS4398 DAC cost around the same and doesn't even have a headphone amp in it.
 

 
 
I can only use it as a DAC to an external amplifier, via the red/white RCA line-out there, and I'm pretty confident in ranking it in the top two of all DAC's, sound-cards and DAP's I've listened to.

 

[rickdohc]

Quote:

I received my Firephoenix DAC-02 in the mail on the 25th. I plugged it in and listened to it for about 30 seconds, just long enough to test for a channel imbalance. I figured that since everyone else that received a lemon had this problem, it was probably fine. 100 hours of burn in later.....
 
Well.. Long story short I indeed received a lemon. I wish I hadn't spent so much time comparing it to my legitimate dacs, because all i really had to do to see it was a piece of junk was compare it with my computer's onboard audio. (No, I don't have a sound card) The DAC sounded "Closed in", like the music was recorded in someone's closet. It also sounded muddy and kind of funky in a way difficult to describe. It sounded awful on my HD650's so for most of the audition I only used my M50s.
 
All in all I'm pretty disappointed. I guess my dad is getting a 2TB HD this year. I just hope I can return it. =(

 
 
i had that problem, but its the plug adapter o whatever its called,  where you plug the HP on the FP.  every time i touched that plug it soundend thing and like in closet or in a hall, so i changed the plug and problem solved.
 
also, changed the volume pod, problem solved.
 
So, this guys are having a bad reputation and loosing potential buyers because they are using 1 cent cheap parts. in any case, i was "lucky" at least it was a cheap and fast repair.

 

[LaRzZa]

Quote:

 
 
i had that problem, but its the plug adapter o whatever its called,  where you plug the HP on the FP.  every time i touched that plug it soundend thing and like in closet or in a hall, so i changed the plug and problem solved.
 
also, changed the volume pod, problem solved.
 
So, this guys are having a bad reputation and loosing potential buyers because they are using 1 cent cheap parts. in any case, i was "lucky" at least it was a cheap and fast repair.

I agree with you that it's cheap components they use and I will also replace the volume pot and maybe some caps when I get my FP back.

 

[kiteki]

For those interested in another CS4398 DAC.
 
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PD01-TE7022-CS4398-OPA2132-USB-DAC-with-Headphone-amp-fuction-built-in-case-/110910466646 (seller: along1986090)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HIFI-NEW-Version-DAC-Decoder-TE7022-CS4398-24Bit-96Khz-USB-RCA-headphone-output-/140751305382 (seller: minishow0328)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DAC-TE7022-CS4398-OPA2132-USB-Preamplifier-WLX-/200761841719 (seller: zoe_tsang (no case))
 
It's called the "PD01 V1.1 by Wei Liang" or the "Breeze Audio TE7022 / CS4398".

 

[Ic3M0nk3y]

Is Dsnuts the only one so far who hasn't experienced problems with the Fire phoenix DAC-02 ?