[strreamix]

Question:
 
I connected the following way, H10 RCA to 3.5mm into my headphone jack on PC. (soundblaster xtreme audio) I only got sound from the right channel of my headphones. Plus it sounded terrible, I have my DAC coming tomorrow, but I was just anxious to hear it. Is it because my soundcard doesnt have a dedicated line out? or should I be worried only getting sound from the right channel? I then tried the 3.5mm from the H10 into my iphone 5s and got a bit more volume from the left side but it definitely wasn't balanced. Headphones are balanced when i put them directly into the computer. (Sennheiser HD555's) Just wanted to test things before plugging my LCD's in. Hopefully the DAC fixes it. If anyone has any idea whats going on, let me know, thanks. All dip switches on the back of the H10 are in the down position, connecting with an SE cable.

 

[SDBiotek]

Question:

I connected the following way, H10 RCA to 3.5mm into my headphone jack on PC. (soundblaster xtreme audio) I only got sound from the right channel of my headphones. Plus it sounded terrible, I have my DAC coming tomorrow, but I was just anxious to hear it. Is it because my soundcard doesnt have a dedicated line out? or should I be worried only getting sound from the right channel? I then tried the 3.5mm from the H10 into my iphone 5s and got a bit more volume from the left side but it definitely wasn't balanced. Headphones are balanced when i put them directly into the computer. (Sennheiser HD555's) Just wanted to test things before plugging my LCD's in. Hopefully the DAC fixes it. If anyone has any idea whats going on, let me know, thanks. All dip switches on the back of the H10 are in the down position, connecting with an SE cable.

Try using a different cable, if you have one. You might not be getting good contact in the jack from your source. Are you sure that the cable is stereo, not mono?

 

[strreamix]

I don't have another cable to try unfortunately.
 
This is the one I purchased.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI89MSM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

 

[406382]

   
Can a dac have an effect on PRaT? Absolutely!! You got my attention, when I read this part of your comment.
Why? Because, to me, this is a key factor in the difference between the two dac technologies, that are currently implemented. And your reference made me very curious about which kind of technology your new dac is.
I won't go any further; this topic would be much better discussed on a dedicated thread (Here's one: http://www.head-fi.org/t/693798/thoughts-on-a-bunch-of-dacs-and-why-delta-sigma-kinda-sucks-just-to-get-you-to-think-about-stuff), (and it would undoubtedly make the discussion more interesting, than it is currently!).
 
It's widely accepted that the he500's treble and upper mids are less than perfect; there are grill mods etc. to improve this. But as your Metrum is brand spanking new, I think that after a few more hours of burn-in, the bass will probably fill out somewhat.
 
As both you and another poster have mentioned, this isn't really fair on the Modi. It seems that you've found quite an interesting dac. Where did you hear about it?

 
When you say two DAC technologies, do you mean oversampling and non-oversampling? The Quad is a NOS DAC.
 
Actually, my Quad is not new, it's a burned in second hand. There was a big hype around this DAC in 2011 when it surfaced on the Dutch market. After that, it also gained popularity in other countries. Especially the Quad's bigger brother, the Octave. There's a long thread on Metrum NOS DAC's on htforum.nl: http://www.htforum.nl/yabbse/index.php?topic=106289.0
 
I've been eyeing it ever since, but wasn't in need of a DAC until I started the headphone hobby recently.
 
Edit: yes, perhaps this DAC review is better suited for the thread you mentioned. Still, since I'm using an H10, it's somewhat on topic 

 

[406382]

 
Just curious, about what did you pay for the Metrum gear. I tried to look it up.. saw demos for around $800.. did not find the power supply. I am not a huge Schiit fan, but is this a level playing field? Are you surprised at the outcome?
 
Nice gear BTW...

 
I paid €275. The price you mention is probably for a recent ex-demo Octave, not Quad. The Metrum Quad and Octave were sold in different configs at different prices.
 
initial pricing:
Quad only: €300
with PSU: €400
Octave € (inc PSU): €800
 
new pricing:
Quad only: €400
with PSU: €500
Octave (inc PSU): €1100 

 

[gugman]

Hi all. Just a very quick question - have he400i, can buy RSA HR-2 for 275 usd, should i go for it? Or your advise would be to order gustard h10 for 400$ ? Thanx a lot

 

[strreamix]

I have a decent amount (about 1 cm) of "give" in my volume knob. Is there any way to fix this without opening the amplifier?

 

[DDDamian]

  I have a decent amount (about 1 cm) of "give" in my volume knob. Is there any way to fix this without opening the amplifier?

You mean it slides in or out on the shaft of the volume pot? Not good. It could be that the set screw on the knob is loose in which case, well, tighten it. If that doesn't work open the amp and see if the whole pot is loose and moving.
 
If you're still getting sound from only one channel as you wrote further up it may be the pot is pooched and only one channel is getting through it. That's unlikely though as that much play and likely neither channel's wiper arm would be making contact. I'd be opening it up...

 

[strreamix]

  You mean it slides in or out on the shaft of the volume pot? Not good. It could be that the set screw on the knob is loose in which case, well, tighten it. If that doesn't work open the amp and see if the whole pot is loose and moving.
 
If you're still getting sound from only one channel as you wrote further up it may be the pot is pooched and only one channel is getting through it. That's unlikely though as that much play and likely neither channel's wiper arm would be making contact. I'd be opening it up...

It doesnt go in/out. It has movement when either increasing/decreasing volume. (right/left)
 
I was only getting 1 channel from the amp hooked directly to my PC, then I get a bit more from the left channel hooked to my iphone 5s. Just going to wait for my ODAC to come today and hope it all works.

 

[BassDigger]

 
When you say two DAC technologies, do you mean oversampling and non-oversampling? The Quad is a NOS DAC.
 
Actually, my Quad is not new, it's a burned in second hand. There was a big hype around this DAC in 2011 when it surfaced on the Dutch market. After that, it also gained popularity in other countries. Especially the Quad's bigger brother, the Octave. There's a long thread on Metrum NOS DAC's on htforum.nl: http://www.htforum.nl/yabbse/index.php?topic=106289.0
 
I've been eyeing it ever since, but wasn't in need of a DAC until I started the headphone hobby recently.
 
Edit: yes, perhaps this DAC review is better suited for the thread you mentioned. Still, since I'm using an H10, it's somewhat on topic 

 
Just to close off the OT here; I can see that you've already started posting on the other thread.
 
I don't know if you've had time to get the full gist of the dac thread, but over-sampling (OS) is part of the topic; some say that it could be the main differentiating factor; this could be true. But it's not really about OS, non-OS.
Incidentally, your impressions that the Metrum NOS dac is plenty detailed goes against the general opinion on that thread; many comments there clearly state that NOS is less detailed, when compared to OS. Actually, your impressions are more in line with what I'd previously understood; that oversampling filters reduce detail, or more to the point, NOS designs, and mods, reveal more detail.
 
Anyway, back to my point:
The two technologies that I'm actually referring to are R-2R (multibit or ladder) and Delta Sigma (D-S) DACs.
R-2R dacs, like the Metrum, are very rare; D-S dacs are the norm, and have been for over 20 years. But, there are an increasing number of people who believe that R-2R dacs offer better musical reproduction. I'm among them.
 
I will be ordering my H10 very soon, to enjoy with my R-2R dac. I hope that it doesn't have any of the glitches that are troubling you, at the moment. I'm sure that you'll get your amp working fine, in the end. I just hope that it isn't too much hassle to do so.
When/if my amp arrives, in good health, I have a little celebration planned.

 

[tretneo]

  I don't have another cable to try unfortunately.
 
This is the one I purchased.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI89MSM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

 
I purchased one of these recently (last week) and had the same problem. Tons of static if I move the cable around and generally only audio on one side. If I tweaked it just right I would get both channels active but only temporarily and with tons of static. I think there must be a bad batch.

 

[SDBiotek]

I don't have another cable to try unfortunately.

This is the one I purchased.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI89MSM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

That cable should be fine. Let us know if anything changes when you get your DAC. Hopefully you won't need to return the amp.

 

[DDDamian]

  It doesnt go in/out. It has movement when either increasing/decreasing volume. (right/left)
 
I was only getting 1 channel from the amp hooked directly to my PC, then I get a bit more from the left channel hooked to my iphone 5s. Just going to wait for my ODAC to come today and hope it all works.

Open 'er up.

 

[tretneo]

That cable should be fine. Let us know if anything changes when you get your DAC. Hopefully you won't need to return the amp.

 
I believe it's the cable. I bought the same cable from Amazon a week or two ago and have similar issues with it. In fact I threw it away.

 

[strreamix]

The culprit was in fact the Kabeldirekt cable.
 
Although, it is worthy to note that even with a new cable the "headphone jack" on my PC connected directly to the amplifier still output terrible audio quality.
 
With the new cable and the ODAC connected, my audio is coming through very nice on a Sennheiser HD555. Although, my computer tends to blue screen often so I fear to plug in my LCD-3's until I get a new PC.