M2tech Hiface issue

[Wil]

Hi all,
 
Just bought the above yesterday and i'm facing a weird problem with it.
 
Before i start, this is my setup.
 
Sager 8150 (Windowx 7 64 bit) - > Foobar 2000 -> M2tech hiface -> Eastern electric minimax DAC -> Schitt Lyr -> Audeze LCD2 rev 2.
 
The M2tech installed without any problems and the drivers show up in windows and in foobar.
 
When i open foobar there is no background noise whatsoever but once the music starts playing, there is a loud hiss in the background. At first i dismissed it as the recording, but when i tried my most pristine of recordings, the hiss was there. I was using a optical toslink to the minimax before this but couldn't get the signal to lock properly. Now with the M2tech hiface, the signal locks perfectly but i get this loud hiss when the music is playing.
 
I've tried reinstalling the software (Driver and foobar) but to no avail.
 
Will be most grateful if someone can shed some light on this.
 
Merry X'mas to y'all!

 

[Wil]

Just an update: retested Optical out to Minimax DAC. Music plays with no hiss.

 

[ZorgDK]

Did you notice an improvement in SQ with the M2Tech? 

 

[Wil]

The background hiss was too loud to compare sufficiently between toslink to DAC and M2tech coxial to DAC, unfortunately..

 

[ZorgDK]

Ok I see.

 

[Wil]

I don't know if its my laptop's USB problem, but the M2tech seems to be boosting the background noise into an audible hiss.
 
I tried 2 different coxial cables with the same results, and have tried all the USB ports on my laptop. (2 x USB 3.0 and 3 x USB 2.0)
 
I have also disabled all other windows sound drivers except the M2tech driver to no avail.
 
):

 

[Wil]

Ok, emailed M2tech for assistance..but does anyone have any idea why this is happening?
 
I wonder if upgrading to the EVO would solve the problem.