Thank you for this indiction. One point to add, this morning I turned the dac on and it is working fine but I only played one song. Yesterday it was working fine too but after 1h or so the noise started. Apparently this issue manifests itself as the dac warms up, could it be? later today I will seat to listen for a couple of CDs and see if the issue repeats.
Could this still be linked to the electrolytic caps?
Unfortunately I can't say; definitely possible. I never use electrolytic caps (except in heater supplies) so I'm no expert here.
Intermittent problems can be very hard to find.
With it playing music OK, but with hum, I tend to think power supply but I could be wrong. Problems in the circuit itself usually cause things like no sound at all, crackles or nasty noises; hum tends to be the power supply. But not always!
And just possibly, a bad joint at a rectifier diode might cause such a problem, and bad joints can cause intermittent problems. Some kind of earthing problem might cause the hum, but usually that happens from new due to bad design (yes, I've done it myself) rather than fail after running well.
It definitely has the symptoms of a cap going bad. It happens. See what MHDT's response is and if they offer to help you with the matter. If not find a good local tech. I have two local techs that have replaced failing caps in various pieces of equipment from various manufacturers. Unfortunately if you are in this hobby long enough you will have caps go bad especially once equipment ages a bit.
It definitely has the symptoms of a cap going bad. It happens. See what MHDT's response is and if they offer to help you with the matter. If not find a good local tech. I have two local techs that have replaced falling caps in various pieces of equipment from various manufacturers. Unfortunately if you are in this hobby long enough you will have caps go bad especially once equipment ages a bit.
Thx, yes, I'm waiting for mhdt feedback, let's see what they say. I bought the dac recently but it was second hand so I don't know how many years... I wasn't lucky at all with this purchase, I can't play 192khz high-res file from Qobuz, even if in the user manual it says it should (below that no issues), and not this hum noise...
on top of that, I have another dac that I actually use more, I got this one because I wanted to try a tube dac.
Thank you once again for your message.
Thx, yes, I'm waiting for mhdt feedback, let's see what they say. I bought the dac recently but it was second hand so I don't know how many years... I wasn't lucky at all with this purchase, I can't play 192khz high-res file from Qobuz, even if in the user manual it says it should (below that no issues), and not this hum noise...
on top of that, I have another dac that I actually use more, I got this one because I wanted to try a tube dac.
Thank you once again for your message.
That's interesting about not playing 192khz files from Qobuz. I can play them with my Pagoda (same generation as the Orchid) but I know they have different chips. I definitely could not play 192khz files with my other MHDT dacs I have and have had (Steeplechase, Havana, Paradesia +).
It's too bad you are having issues. I love the MHDT house sound as they impart a musicality that many other DACs I've tried lack.
That's interesting about not playing 192khz files from Qobuz. I can play them with my Pagoda (same generation as the Orchid) but I know they have different chips. I definitely could not play 192khz files with my other MHDT dacs I have and have had (Steeplechase, Havana, Paridesia +).
It's too bad you are having issues. I love the MHDT house sound as they impart a musicality that many other DACs I've tried lack.
with USB I can play 192khz ... anyway, I can live without this function but I can't live with this noise.
Here is a small clip I just recorded: it was working fine for around 1h and then the issue started again.
I'm not playing music in this clip, there isn't even any signal going into the DAC, and the noise is clearly there. With music playing is the same. As soon as I turn off the dac, the hum goes away. I also turned on the dac without the tube and the hum is still present, no difference...
I'm using an Yamaha AS2100. I have no issues with another DAC I also use, or CD player etc... so I don't think the issue is in the amplifier. What do you think?
Unfortunately I can't say; definitely possible. I never use electrolytic caps (except in heater supplies) so I'm no expert here.
Intermittent problems can be very hard to find.
With it playing music OK, but with hum, I tend to think power supply but I could be wrong. Problems in the circuit itself usually cause things like no sound at all, crackles or nasty noises; hum tends to be the power supply. But not always!
And just possibly, a bad joint at a rectifier diode might cause such a problem, and bad joints can cause intermittent problems. Some kind of earthing problem might cause the hum, but usually that happens from new due to bad design (yes, I've done it myself) rather than fail after running well.
It may very well be the DAC has a problem and needs repair....just important to try and troubleshoot up and down your chain to make sure it's not something minor like a bad USB or ethernet cable ....or the perhaps the router is too close to your amplifier --
dont drive your self crazy testing everything - but do spend a little time checking a few things in your chain
probably a good idea to email Jiun as well to start a conversation and seek some professional help (or the dealer if you purchased from a dealer is good first step)
It may very well be the DAC has a problem and needs repair....just important to try and troubleshoot up and down your chain to make sure it's not something minor like a bad USB or ethernet cable ....or the perhaps the router is too close to your amplifier --
dont drive your self crazy testing everything - but do spend a little time checking a few things in your chain
probably a good idea to email Jiun as well to start a conversation and seek some professional help (or the dealer if you purchased from a dealer is good first step)
That's interesting about not playing 192khz files from Qobuz. I can play them with my Pagoda (same generation as the Orchid) but I know they have different chips. I definitely could not play 192khz files with my other MHDT dacs I have and have had (Steeplechase, Havana, Paradesia +).
It's too bad you are having issues. I love the MHDT house sound as they impart a musicality that many other DACs I've tried lack.
just sharing my experience, I have two MHDT DACs, an Atlantis that I have been using since April 2019 and a new Orchid 69SE (just received a couple of weeks ago).
I absolutely love both and I never managed to play 24bit 196khz files. In the Atalnstis I tried all inputs (including USB) and cannot make it work.
In the Orchid 69SE, I tried 196khz via BNC and RCA and didn't work. Will try USB later on and report.
Frankly speaking, I don't find this a problem...I prefer red book generally speaking...but I would expect the dac to meet the advertised specifications...
just sharing my experience, I have two MHDT DACs, an Atlantis that I have been using since April 2019 and a new Orchid 69SE (just received a couple of weeks ago).
I absolutely love both and I never managed to play 24bit 196khz files. In the Atalnstis I tried all inputs (including USB) and cannot make it work.
In the Orchid 69SE, I tried 196khz via BNC and RCA and didn't work. Will try USB later on and report.
Frankly speaking, I don't find this a problem...I prefer red book generally speaking...but I would expect the dac to meet the advertised specifications...
Very interesting post. What is the Orchid 69SE? I see on F.S. on Ebay @$2,200 USD, but nothing on MHDT Labs' website.
As for listening to 24/192 files, I do this occasionally with my Orchid via JRiver Music Center. My Orchid is fed signal from a DDC (Matrix Audio X-SPDIf 2) on a high quality coax cable. I get no hesitation or stuttering, just music. I realize the DAC's chip outputs only 16 bits, but otherwise have no reason to think I'm getting less than 129 kHz.
Is there a way to tell via JRiver what signal is passing through? FYI I have JRiver set to a maximum 24 bits/192 kHz.
Thank you for this indiction. One point to add, this morning I turned the dac on and it is working fine but I only played one song. Yesterday it was working fine too but after 1h or so the noise started. Apparently this issue manifests itself as the dac warms up, could it be? later today I will seat to listen for a couple of CDs and see if the issue repeats.
Could this still be linked to the electrolytic caps?
Have you tried changing the tube? maybe the tube is faulty. Or if you haven't got a spare tube, try to pull it out and put it in again, maybe the tube is not seated correctly?
what about ground loop? Try to plug the dac into a separate wall outlet, not the one the other gear in your system uses.
Very interesting post. What is the Orchid 69SE? I see on F.S. on Ebay @$2,200 USD, but nothing on MHDT Labs' website.
As for listening to 24/192 files, I do this occasionally with my Orchid via JRiver Music Center. My Orchid is fed signal from a DDC (Matrix Audio X-SPDIf 2) on a high quality coax cable. I get no hesitation or stuttering, just music. I realize the DAC's chip outputs only 16 bits, but otherwise have no reason to think I'm getting less than 129 kHz.
Is there a way to tell via JRiver what signal is passing through? FYI I have JRiver set to a maximum 24 bits/192 kHz.
Hi! I also don't know much about the Orchid 69SE. I was toying with the idea of trying the Orchid when I saw this version on ebay. I sent an email to MHDT asking the differences between the standard Orchid dac and the 69SE but did not have a reply.
Anyways, to my eyes it looks the same design as the standard Orchid but with different components. The logic board is more neatly designed with reasonable space between components. Aesthetically, I much prefer the old designs. The asking price is kind of crazy but MHDT does auctions once in a while. If you follow them on ebay you will get a notification. Start price is normally around 1000us$ and the final auction normally closes between 1300~1400$ (or at least the few auctions I followed).
I will post more about it once I can have some decent listening sessions.
Have you tried changing the tube? maybe the tube is faulty. Or if you haven't got a spare tube, try to pull it out and put it in again, maybe the tube is not seated correctly?
what about ground loop? Try to plug the dac into a separate wall outlet, not the one the other gear in your system uses.
I tried 3 different tubes and no tube... the hum didn't change. I tried connecting it to another outlet with a different power cord, still no changes
I will try it in a different room to be sure.
I also thought it could be a ground issue, I even thought of connecting the ground terminal to the case, but I don't if this is even a good idea... so never tried.
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