My USB DAC occasionally cuts off the first half-second of audio (Windows 10)

[msing539]

This is one thing I'd read about when doing Web searches, before posting this thread. Was REALLY hoping this would be the solution, but it turns out that service is nowhere to be found on my PC.

I think Nahimic is generalized in this sense to mean all enhancements.

Windows audio enhancements, virtual surround, Dolby Atmos, etc.

 

[563236]

Nice troubleshooting with the optical option. I don't use Windows so I have no way to replicate, but glad you can somewhat eliminate USB as the issue.

Just leaving some notes as I have no idea when I will find time to visit this site again.

I forgot about the Provantage site. It's much cheaper ($42) versus $70+ elsewhere just in case you want to try a dedicated USB bus in the future with a lower cost of entry:

https://www.provantage.com/startech-pexusb311ac3~7STR9584.htm

You can power your USB @5V via SATA if needed. I don't need as I power my USB optical cable with 5V via off grid Super Capacitors which is cleaner than powering via internally. But for general use, powering 5V via SATA is fine:




You can try a Linux USB boot stick and try their free Audio Playback Software without a complete re-install to troubleshoot if you also get a delay in Linux. I'm not sure if foobar for Windows can run under Linux to troubleshoot:

https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

Oh, I guess you can run foobar on Linux:

https://www.reddit.com/r/foobar2000/comments/b6hvsy/foobar2000_on_linux_through_wine/

I only use realtime low latency linux kernels with the ability to load the whole OS in RAM on my listening rigs. It's a paid Audiophile OS and not free so cannot recommend for troubleshooting. But free Linux software like above will help troubleshoot if it happens also in Linux. It's unfortunate there is not a free version as a realtime low latency would be my reference standard for any kinds of delays. With an Audiophile OS, you can also dedicate CPU cores just for audio services.

For general use I use MacOS. You can too if your adventurous as your motherboard seems to be supported:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh...core_instructions_for_asus_z170_maximus_viii/

https://github.com/ssakuh/ASUS-Z170-Maximus-VIII-HERO-6700k-OpenCore

But if you have Nvidia, you have to run a legacy MacOS. Only Radeon can you use the latest MacOS.

I need ECC RAM on my workstation so I'm most productive on MacOS. Official Mac Pros have no value even though they have ECC RAM. I will evenutally move on to Radeon as MacOS is the highest priority for my workstation needs above everything else.

This allows me to quad boot two instances of MacOS, Linux and my realtime low latency OS. But this is only for general purpose audio use as my main audio source is SPDIF with realtime low latency is separate from my general purpose PC rig. I don't want to go down the rabbit hole of a PC audiophile PCI-e rig since I'm super happy with my SPDIF rig.

But the point is the more OS'es, the more you can troubleshoot the hardware.

With MacOS, you can use Audirvana playback software which I believe has a RAMPLAY feature. It's another option to troubleshoot to see if it behaves like foobar.

I also did a search for "delay" under the /r/foobar2000 subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/foobar2000/search/?q=delay&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=

some activity but not much.

I guess defragging is still a thing in Windows:



It's a lead, but Windows is foreign territory to me.

 

[ltokuno]

I'm having a weird issue using external USB DACs on my PC (Windows 10): I occasionally get a half-second audio cutoff when starting an audio file. For example: when starting a YouTube video (will miss the first word if it starts right away with dialogue), or starting a song (will miss the first note). It happens maybe 15% of the time when starting an audio file.

- This can happen as I'm going from one file to another. It's not a 'DAC going in standby' thing;
- This has also happened between 16/44.1 files (no bitrate change, which is known to trigger muting relays in DACs: I expect that, but this is not what's happening here);
- In fact, I've had it happen in gapless transitions between two songs on the same album! So even if I don't *manually* launch a file, this can still happen occasionally. (Honestly, this is the most annoying one. I could live with having to rewind a track once in a while, but if you ruin the flow of an album I'm playing, we have a problem.)

Both DACs I've had this happen with are ESS DACs (one being my Modi 3E, which is a very recent design). This never happened with the AKM DACs I've tried on my PC, for some reason.

Can anyone relate to this? I've tried Googling this issue with many different keywords, and it just doesn't come up much. Only time it does is to suggest the DAC is going in standby or the bitrate is changing, but I've already established this is not my case. I've also tried many workarounds in Windows already, but nothing seems to fix this.

Any input is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Posting this for other people looking for a possible solution to this problem.
I had the same issue with my Schiit Magni with DAC installed. I noticed it on a 16/44k FLAC (995k avg bitrate) file with a few cymbals hits in the opening. These were gone. I tried everything in this thread with no luck, presumably like the original poster. Then trying things at random I got it to work.

On Windows 10 Sound Settings -> Device Properties -> Additional Device Properties -> Advanced tab -Default Format. It was set to 16 bit, 44100 Hz. I set it to the highest: 32 bit, 192000 Hz. I know that's a mismatch to the Magni, but it fixed the cut out of the first half second or so.

Sorry for digging up an old post, but this is the most relevant hit when searching this problem.

 

[schmalgausen]

I've read a solution to modify Windows driver config to prevent DAC power saving somewhere on ASR forum.

 

[Kevin.T]

Appreciate the follow-up! Since it's been a while, I thought I'd mention what happened on my end since then.

I've basically upgraded my entire PC: brand-new motherboard, brand-new CPU, brand-new SSD drive, and I installed Windows 11 on it (also got an upgraded GPU, albeit used). I thought that would've taken care of the problem, but nope! I was STILL getting the same issue with the ESS Modi DAC on my new setup.

I was absolutely at a loss at that point. I ended up getting another DAC, one that uses an AKM chip (I got the Topping E30 II Lite). It's been smooth sailing since. No more weird, annoying cutoff.

I sold my Modi DAC to a friend, and it works perfectly on his setup, no complaints. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Truly a bizarre saga... but it's over now. I'm happing with my Topping DAC, and if I ever need a new DAC in the future, I'll probably always opt for AKM chips, just to be safe.

 

[Roseval]

Wouldn't be surprised if this has nothing to do with the DAC chip but all with the USB receiver. Bet your Topping comes with a Xmos and Shiit with its own USB Shiit.

 

[schmalgausen]

Bet your Topping comes with a Xmos and Shiit with its own USB Shiit.

I had the same issue with low end xmos SMSL SU1 and had zero bugs with schiit USB.