Yes, I tried 2 other cables, one very thin and cheap and one quite robust with good shielding and ferrite-tubes on the ends. No difference whatsoever to the supplied cable.
I have no idea what frequency I heard, a rough guess is somewhere in the 1000-2000Hz range. I should have made a recording, but I can't do that now...
same symptoms here - low impedance cans (32ohms) with high pitched tone, full size cans (60 ohms) without
source macbook pro, with and without power cord connected, 2 different cables, different usb sockets - no change ...
out of the full sized cans the udac2 sounds really really good, listening with the small ones is just annoying b/c the background noise is just too apparent ...
greetings from london ...
ps: tried another cable - with this i'm getting a lower pitched tone - first the tone i already knew and after one sec or so it's slightly lower pitched - strange ...
another macbook pro (older model) produces the same effect
pps: and the udac is getting quite warm! i had the first version and this stayed cool as ice all day long - maybe there is a connection?
Yes, I tried 2 other cables, one very thin and cheap and one quite robust with good shielding and ferrite-tubes on the ends. No difference whatsoever to the supplied cable.
I have no idea what frequency I heard, a rough guess is somewhere in the 1000-2000Hz range. I should have made a recording, but I can't do that now...
Here are some lower frequency tones: http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/tone/download/
And here are some higher ones: http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/
Maybe with some comparison you guys can get a feeling for around what frequency the tone is. 1khz isn't really high pitched if I were to describe it.
Trying to look at the data, it's difficult to decipher the problem. Many don't hear the tone, and at the 1-2.5khz frequency level that's been reported, it's well within the audible range for anyone. Those that do hear it can hear it with replacement units as well. I wonder if there could be big batches that are affected, so all from the same retailer would be from that batch. It would be more interesting if someone could find a unit with the problem and one without the problem (which doesn't seem to have occurred yet) then we would know it is a hardware problem somewhere.
I do notice a lot of the people reporting they can hear it seem to be outside the US. They probably do get completely different manufacturing batches. I also wonder if noise on the usb line could be affecting it based on the power grid operating frequency. The reports vary so much on this, it's baffling so far.
I myself don't hear any tone whatsoever with any of my headphones from highly sensitive IEMs to high impedance full size. It's been on 3 computers with 4 different usb cables and the behavior is the same. From reports the tone should be loud enough to be obvious.
right bcwang – when you have a device with "the tone" you will hear it – it's really obvious ...
i was also suspecting country specific issues, but when you are feeding a laptop from battery there shouldn't be any interferences from a power grid. and i ordered my device in the us, so it should be from a local batch as well ...
but i'm not quite sure if everyone hears the same frequency though, since i could reproduce a lower and a higher ...
Trying to look at the data, it's difficult to decipher the problem. Many don't hear the tone, and at the 1-2.5khz frequency level that's been reported, it's well within the audible range for anyone. Those that do hear it can hear it with replacement units as well. I wonder if there could be big batches that are affected, so all from the same retailer would be from that batch. It would be more interesting if someone could find a unit with the problem and one without the problem (which doesn't seem to have occurred yet) then we would know it is a hardware problem somewhere.
I do notice a lot of the people reporting they can hear it seem to be outside the US. They probably do get completely different manufacturing batches. I also wonder if noise on the usb line could be affecting it based on the power grid operating frequency. The reports vary so much on this, it's baffling so far.
I myself don't hear any tone whatsoever with any of my headphones from highly sensitive IEMs to high impedance full size. It's been on 3 computers with 4 different usb cables and the behavior is the same. From reports the tone should be loud enough to be obvious.
Agreed that initially I just thought it was an overseas issue, but I am starting to feel, and to be brutally honest, think its a manufacturing component switch or something where the later models/batch all have this. That said, I have the HDP not the uDac, and I've been following both threads since my HDP had issues. Anyways, zips.
right bcwang – when you have a device with "the tone" you will hear it – it's really obvious ...
i was also suspecting country specific issues, but when you are feeding a laptop from battery there shouldn't be any interferences from a power grid. and i ordered my device in the us, so it should be from a local batch as well ...
but i'm not quite sure if everyone hears the same frequency though, since i could reproduce a lower and a higher ...
Another possibility is the unit is picking up some wireless signal in the same room. Do cell phones, wifi, cordless phones, etc... maybe operate at different frequencies compared to the US? What if you plugged the uDac-2 into a usb battery pack and walked around outside with it. I know this is getting crazy but this reminds me of the days everyone thought I was hearing phantom hiss from my equipment. At least you guys have confirmation from other mates, I was usually on my own in claiming amps and DAPs hissed with a multitude of my headphones.
I ordered my uDac-2 directly from NuForce via Amazon and I have no noise at all. I am using it in the same room as cellphones, wireles networks and other wireless products so I do not think it has anything to do with wireless interference.
I will order my uDac-2 today. I'm from the Netherlands and the distributor, when asked, replied that he could not reproduce the noise in the unit(s) he tested. Let's hope it's fine. I can get a full refund if it isn't though.
I will order my uDac-2 today. I'm from the Netherlands and the distributor, when asked, replied that he could not reproduce the noise in the unit(s) he tested. Let's hope it's fine. I can get a full refund if it isn't though.
So, how come Nuforce are ignoring apparently faulty products?
I'm a drummer since 30 years, and do not have perfect hearing, but I have never heard anything like this before, and the udac2 its no my first source for audio.
I did an exchange yesterday at my dealer in Stockholm, and the new one still got the "tone", with both IE7 and shr840, maybe a tad lower in volume than the first one.
i want one without this fault, but i guess the store in Stockholm do have udacs from the same, faulty batch.
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