[dhwilkin]

... man, is this thing tiny! It looks like a toy compared to my MSB Link DAC. Guess I'm going to have to find a way to weight it down. I'm getting a good lock w/ ext. synch, maybe I'll try the other settings later.

As for the sound... I can hear it, so that's a good start. Time to start the burn-in process.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Damn you got yours quick! Mines is probably coming in on Thurs or so. BTW, you wouldn't happen to have a list again of the mods done? The seller took his ad off Audiogon...

 

[dhwilkin]

Well, it helps that I live in the continental US.

And I don't have the list copied down, but they're almost the same mods as done by Wayne from Bolder Cables, which are listed here.

Actually, if somebody made a battery pack for this thing, I could see it being the ultimate portable DAC. It's roughly as big, and maybe twice as thick, as my Panasonic 480 pcdp.

I ordered the Stancor power supply from Allied Electronics, so that should be here sometime before I stop burning the DI/O in.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Well, the DI/O arrived...but alas, I seem to have run into the famous problem with it not locking in on the digital signal.

So now it seems I have to hunt for a digital cable which I assume costs at least $50, and all of a sudden this DI/O isn't such a great deal...

 

[markjia]

Vertigo, when you say that i does not lock on, does this mean that you are using it in ext. sync mode? Is this what you'd recommend using (as apposed to 88.2 KHz)?

 

[Vertigo-1]

Well, here's what the seller said:

"Ext. sync. utilizes the clock of your transport. All other settings utilize the clock inside DI/O. Theoretically, using the clock inside DI/O would be better, as it would not be susceptible to the jitter induced by the cable. But, since the crystal used in the DI/O is not of high quality (why do you think they are so cheap?

, it's better to leave it at ext. sync. while using it as a DAC. If you do an A/D job, then the setting is used to set the sampling rate of your A/D conversion. But let your ears be the judge."

 

[kelly]

vertigo,

I disagree that a $50 cable is required but I'd think $50 cables were commonplace around here. Follow the above advice and set it to 88.2 if you're listening to a 44.1 CD. If it doesn't seem to be getting the lock, unplug it and plug it back in after you've started the CD. Sometimes, with some DVD players, it has trouble getting a lock -- this has to do with the way the DVD player send out one signal and then another before settling in on whatever kind of disc is present.

 

[dhwilkin]

For the most part, my DI/O has been behaving itself, in regards to keeping a lock. It did lose it once sometime after a full day of burn-in, w/ the CD playing on repeat mode. Had to cycle through the synch options a few times, then the DI/O got the synch again. Oddly enough, it seemed to get the synch back on the 88.2 setting, but I moved it back to ext. synch for now. My transport is a base Pioneer DV-343.

I'm almost at the 72-hour mark on burn-in, out of the recommended 150 hours. Took a quick listen yesterday, and the sound has gotten smoother, and the bass impact is also back. And I'm getting a Stancor power supply today, so from everything I've heard, that should be a big help as well.

 

[Hirsch]

The quick fix for lack of signal lock is to unplug the DI/O for a few seconds, and power it back on with the signal present. That usually takes care of it. If that doesn't work, try a cheap digital cable from Rat Shack first. Some people have had good luck with those. There are some mods available that will increase the ability of the DI/O to lock, but you really want to avoid these if possible, as one of them reportedly has an adverse effect on sound.

A digital signal usually has one master clock, and the other end of the loop slaves to it. A CDP takes it timing from the source, and cannot slave to an external clock, so a CDP will almost always be set up as a master clock. Most DACS only have an external sync mode, in order to create a properly configured digital loop. The DI/O gives you sampling options mainly for A to D use, where you have to set the sampling rate for conversion of the analog signal to digital.

However, the crystal in the DI/O is a lot better than some give it credit for. If timing in the DI/O is better than the source, setting a sampling rate will actually create a mis-configured digital loop with two master clocks...but the DI/O will catch the samples and perform a crude form of reclocking. Sometimes this helps the sound, sometimes not. Note that if you set a sampling rate that is not an exact multiple of the source, you won't like what you hear ( a 44.1 KHz CD can be converted with external sync, 44 KHz or 88 KHz. If you try 48 or 96 KHz, it won't be pretty.)

 

[Hirsch]

Also, if using the DI/O with a DVD player, make sure that all surround sound modes are disabled in the player. The DI/O can only handle a two-channel signal.

 

[chych]

Hm if one of the mods changed the input resistor from 100ohm to 75ohm, it should be changed back to 100ohm as many have said it is better as it is. A lot think it is 75ohm RF impedance on the cable and change it to 75 but it should be 100 as it was designed that way.

 

[dcg]

Forgive my ignorance, but the $235 quoted by Boulder is in addition to the price of the unit, correct?

 

[dhwilkin]

I think that's correct. You should check w/ Bolder to be sure, though.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Well, tried all of the above, and no go. And I am using a Rat Shack cable.

None of the settings output any sound. 9000ES is set to PCM, 2 channel output, 44.1 output.

 

[dhwilkin]

Nothing at all, not even any hiss? That's very odd, I've never heard of a DI/O not getting a signal lock at all. Are all the cables plugged in tight and in the correct places on the DI/O and 9000? Got anything else w/ a digital-out handy?