L/R wobble? DAC

[Protek67]

I'm curious how to tell the differences from one DAC to another. I have noticed pop's and other oddities while listening to youtube but the biggest one that has me confused would be a wobble between left and right. When I first heard it was in lossless audio and assumed it was a trick used in stereo mastering. However I have since heard it in audio sources where it makes no sense. I will have to switch between the two DAC's I have while spending several weeks on each, and perhaps go to onboard PC audio to feel out a baseline. Is this a processing thing, a compressing issue or a mastering thing? edit: I am on a balanced headphone amp, perhaps that is part of it. But I believe I heard it while on the SE side of things.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

What exactly do you mean by "L/R wobble?" recorded music isn't totally all on the left or right channel. When you record a drum set for example you have two mics there so even a cymbal strike at either end registers on both mics, just very faintly on one vs the other.

 

[Protek67]

What exactly do you mean by "L/R wobble?" recorded music isn't totally all on the left or right channel. When you record a drum set for example you have two mics there so even a cymbal strike at either end registers on both mics, just very faintly on one vs the other.

I mean the audio will alternate between left and right being louder than the other. Maybe this has to do with the usb hub I am connected to because my usb cable isn't long enough to reach my computer.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I mean the audio will alternate between left and right being louder than the other. Maybe this has to do with the usb hub I am connected to because my usb cable isn't long enough to reach my computer.

Or the DAC's broken, or it could be a software issue. But it has to be the entire L and R signals doing that, not having a loud lead guitar on the left giving way to the rest of the instruments mostly on center and the rhythm guitar to the right.

 

[Protek67]

I switched over to a SE connection on my Blue Lola's and don't hear it. Could this be due to the balanced cable I got for my HiFi-man HE400i's? or is it the balanced dac or amp?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I switched over to a SE connection on my Blue Lola's and don't hear it. Could this be due to the balanced cable I got for my HiFi-man HE400i's? or is it the balanced dac or amp?

if all you changed was which output on the amp and the necessary cable then the DAC isn't the problem. Could be an issue with your balanced cable or there's something wrong with some components in the amp that it uses in differential drive but not in SE.

 

[Protek67]

ok thank you, I'm using a Topping DX7 dac/amp which to the best of my knowledge uses two dac chips. I'm guessing that when on a SE connection it's one chip and on a balanced it's two but I literally don't know what I'm talking about. If the cable is a potential problem then that would be my biggest culprit, it was cheap by XLR cable standards but still cost me $70 and almost looks like a DIY thing. The covering is a hard plastic mesh that transfers sound pretty bad at times and it twist's up in a very stiff manner. Maybe I need to look into a better cable, but I need to figure out what the real problem here is because I spent a large sum on this setup and the only reason I got the DX7 was for the balanced aspect, if that is faulty I see no reason to have spent double a schiit stack on it. Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot this would be helpful.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

ok thank you, I'm using a Topping DX7 dac/amp which to the best of my knowledge uses two dac chips. I'm guessing that when on a SE connection it's one chip and on a balanced it's two but I literally don't know what I'm talking about.

Very highly unlikely for them to wire it up and then activate the second DAC chip only when running balanced. It has separate DAC chips for left and right channels to increase channel separation, the difference is in how if it's running SE, L and R share a common GND on the amp. Otherwise each DAC chip feeds an output stage that runs a signal to the amp stage, and probably the DAC stage on that always runs balanced. it's only the amp that doesn't.

If the cable is a potential problem then that would be my biggest culprit, it was cheap by XLR cable standards but still cost me $70 and almost looks like a DIY thing. The covering is a hard plastic mesh that transfers sound pretty bad at times and it twist's up in a very stiff manner.

$70 is expensive already and that's only cheap because you can get it from small time DIY-ers who don't have an incorporated brand (many of which use spooled, mass manufactured cables, albeit great quality) that might sell them at $300 or so.

If the cable wasn't from some large spool of a mass manufactured Starquad and the just braided the conductors and put some kind of jacket (tht isn't even real shielding) over them there's a chance it might have had enough friction sommewhere to strip the inner jacket wrapping each conductor, which might even damage your amp if the wrong conductors touch each other (assuming it hasn't yet).

Maybe I need to look into a better cable, but I need to figure out what the real problem here is because I spent a large sum on this setup and the only reason I got the DX7 was for the balanced aspect, if that is faulty I see no reason to have spent double a schiit stack on it. Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot this would be helpful.

Stop using it. And see if you can have the guy recheck his work on that cable. If not then get a relatively cheap cable and preferably just made from a spooled Starquad cable like Mogami, with a 4-pin XLR on one end and your headphone connectors on the other ends. Parts wise this is cheap but what you pay extra for is the more intensive labour of getting the headphone end wired up.

 

[Protek67]

Well I got the cable on amazon, I'll link the product.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074LG64W9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know these cables go for a much higher price, however I'm rather let down with this one, the covering product is plastic and very stiff and conducts noise easily not to mention it could be the problem I'm experiencing. Can you suggest somewhere to find a legit balanced cable that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Well I got the cable on amazon, I'll link the product.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074LG64W9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know these cables go for a much higher price, however I'm rather let down with this one, the covering product is plastic and very stiff and conducts noise easily not to mention it could be the problem I'm experiencing. Can you suggest somewhere to find a legit balanced cable that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

I use this on my HD600. Looks similar but mine isn't stiff.
https://www.amazon.com/3-9ft-Replac...508470995&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=hd600+cable

The problem with balanced though is they're always priced higher and it's a mix of two reasons. First, they don't make them in larger quantities because not a lot of people are expected to buy them. Second, those that do buy them are expected to be able to spend more since they bought a balanced amp. Basically, it's both a supply and quality of demand problem.

Easiest way to get a balanced cable on the cheap is to buy a cheap dual entry cable, and then hope it's got four conductors all the way to the end (which is easier to do than putting a solder on it at the Y-junction, which just becomes a potential point of failure), lop off the TRS plug, then solder on a 4-pin XLR.

 

[Protek67]

ok thanks for the info, I did put in for a return on amazon however today while listening on SE and a different set of cans I had it happen again while watching youtube. So maybe it's just poor encoding that my DAC doesn't know how to handle.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

ok thanks for the info, I did put in for a return on amazon however today while listening on SE and a different set of cans I had it happen again while watching youtube. So maybe it's just poor encoding that my DAC doesn't know how to handle.

That's waaaaaaaaaay less likely than your DAC or your headphone (drivers or the cable sockets) being broken.