[Yama988]

Using my new Monolith DAC/amp hooked up to my PC. Had been working perfectly fine, but yesterday, for some reason, all of the sounds (system, music player, games, etc...) all started coming through at a noticeably higher pitch. Not quite Alvin and the Chipmunks, but you get the idea.

Switched back over to my Mayflower ARC amp, the sounds are completely fine. Same with the external speakers attached to my computer's sound card. So it seems to be an issue with the Monolith unit itself?

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the XMOS drivers, changed all of the cables, plugged and unplugged everything and still the issue persists. I did not change any of the settings on the DAC/amp itself before it happened as I left them at their stock settings. I did reset the settings through the units menu, just to be sure things were where they started.

Any suggestions?

I have contacted Monolith, but have not yet heard from them.

 

[NA Blur]

What changed between the time it worked and when it sounded higher pitched?

It could be the amp/DAC section due to filtering / coupling capacitors which can control the bass, but I suspect something else is going on.

Do you have some sort of EQ setting turned on that your forgot about?

If you can take the DAC signal from the Monolith and input that into the Mayflower ARC amp that would eliminate the DAC section of the Monolith if the issue goes away.

 

[genck]

I agree with above, or try something like 3.5mm to RCA from a phone to the back of the monolith for the analog input and see if the issue persists. I'm not familiar with the circuitry of the Monolith but that should not go through the DAC. Just something to check, good luck.

 

[Yama988]

What changed between the time it worked and when it sounded higher pitched?

It could be the amp/DAC section due to filtering / coupling capacitors which can control the bass, but I suspect something else is going on.

Do you have some sort of EQ setting turned on that your forgot about?

If you can take the DAC signal from the Monolith and input that into the Mayflower ARC amp that would eliminate the DAC section of the Monolith if the issue goes away.

Appreciate the response

Nothing got changed. It worked fine one day. Didnt work properly the next. All settings got reset to stock as well.

EQ was turned off. Its not an EQ issue anyway. Its the actual pitch of all of the sounds (at all frequencies - as far as I can tell), not an emphasis of any particular range.

Finally heard from Monoprice who deemed the unit defective, so its being exchanged for a new one. So, I cant try your suggestion regarding bypassing the the DAC, but its something to remember if I have a similar issue in the future.

 

[NA Blur]

Yeah, bummer. Hope you get a new one pronto!

 

[fastfwd]

It's the actual pitch of all of the sounds (at all frequencies - as far as I can tell), not an emphasis of any particular range.

Did the audio also sound sped up? Like 44100 erroneously played back at 48000?

 

[Yama988]

Did the audio also sound sped up? Like 44100 erroneously played back at 48000?

no. speed is at the normal rate.

for example, when playing a video game on the pc, the sound is altered, but occurs at the appropriate times.

 

[NA Blur]

Let us know if the new unit fixes the issue please.

 

[Yama988]

New unit arrived 2 days ago. Everything now sounds the way it is supposed to.

Still not quite sure what the problem with the unit might have been. Hopefully I will get some feedback from Monoprice

 

[NA Blur]

Glad you are up and running again.