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I wonder would there be any SQ benefit if I'm running it on 1.0x gain against just plugging it in the headphone jack? 

 

[cityle]

I wonder would there be any SQ benefit if I'm running it on 1.0x gain against just plugging it in the headphone jack? 

In my case, using the O2 with 1.0x with the ath-ad900x had improve the sound, giving a relief to the bass that was not there before. But I guess it depends as always of what you're using as the source, crappy laptop vs top-end gaming/workstation motherboard.

 

[MrMateoHead]

Hey all -
 
Having a problem with my ODAC for the first time. Crackling / Static, Hissing sounds - not good. At first I thought some noise may have gotten into my signal chain, but when I plugged in my realtek line - the noise was all gone.
 
Wiggling, trying new USB jacks, different cables didn't matter. Not sure what might be up. I could've sworn I heard the noise coming from a separate speaker / AV receiver, but that was probably just some Mp3 clipping.
 
Any ideas? I opened up the device and nothing looks blackened / damaged. Everything seems tight and normal. If I have time later I may try plugging it into my laptop to see if the problem definitely moves with the ODAC.

 

[schmalgausen]

Have you tried to connect it to another PC?

 

[MrMateoHead]

Have you tried to connect it to another PC?

 
Yes - I just connected it to my Laptop. After installing the ODAC automatically, it was at first noise free.
 
Then, after playing some music for a few minutes, I stopped playback, and cranked volume on the amp.
 
Seems the slightest jiggle of the ODAC brought back the "noise" I'm hearing.
 
What does this indicate? I am on Windows 10 on both machines
 
The ODAC has performed flawlessly on the problem computer for a year or two thus far, and I've never switched the port in use. Now, I'm having problems.

 

[MrMateoHead]

As an update, my ODAC is "behaving" recently. Disconnecting / Plugging it back in seems to have helped. Any slight disturbance may bring back the noise so I have simply left it alone for a day and cranked up the jams.
 
Still, I am curious to hear from others that may have had issues in the past. Could it be weak / cheap connector ports? Some issue with the USB interface? The ODAC ain't cheap but I don't know of a better DAC if this one gives up the ghost.

 

[sanakimpro]

  As an update, my ODAC is "behaving" recently. Disconnecting / Plugging it back in seems to have helped. Any slight disturbance may bring back the noise so I have simply left it alone for a day and cranked up the jams.
 
Still, I am curious to hear from others that may have had issues in the past. Could it be weak / cheap connector ports? Some issue with the USB interface? The ODAC ain't cheap but I don't know of a better DAC if this one gives up the ghost.

I've used the O2/ODAC combo for almost 2 years. 
 
My best guess is that the noise heard even when a song is playing is 50 Hz noise coupling through.
 
I realized this issue is common especially when the ODAC power adapter is connected to the same socket as the PC.
 
When I run into the trouble mentioned, either a PC restart or USB unplug / replug fixes the issue. I think unplugging and replugging forces the USB controller to reset and resolves the issue. Besides that, no issue with the ODAC/O2.
 
Cheers, Shu.

 

[MrMateoHead]

  I've used the O2/ODAC combo for almost 2 years. 
 
My best guess is that the noise heard even when a song is playing is 50 Hz noise coupling through.
 
I realized this issue is common especially when the ODAC power adapter is connected to the same socket as the PC.
 
When I run into the trouble mentioned, either a PC restart or USB unplug / replug fixes the issue. I think unplugging and replugging forces the USB controller to reset and resolves the issue. Besides that, no issue with the ODAC/O2.
 
Cheers, Shu.

Thanks for sharing.
 
To be clear, I seem to hear a "tearing" static, or very low-level statickyness. It is similar to the sound of clipping, but as if it were occurring over much more than a millisecond or so. The big giveaway is when nothing is playing of course, and the "tearing" static can be heard as I turn the volume up much higher.
 
I'll have to assume that it has something to do with the USB ports at this time. Technology . . . .

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Could be that some components on the board is loose. Happened to mine a long time ago but it was easily fixed. Would be great if you could find a DIY guy to help you out.

 

[sanakimpro]

 
Thanks for sharing.
 
To be clear, I seem to hear a "tearing" static, or very low-level statickyness. It is similar to the sound of clipping, but as if it were occurring over much more than a millisecond or so. The big giveaway is when nothing is playing of course, and the "tearing" static can be heard as I turn the volume up much higher.
 
I'll have to assume that it has something to do with the USB ports at this time. Technology . . . .

Yes, I hear that static too. If I try to play a song, I notice the bass is messed up and during quieter passages, the static is there.

 

[MrMateoHead]

  Yes, I hear that static too. If I try to play a song, I notice the bass is messed up and during quieter passages, the static is there.

As the static reminds me of clipping - either too much power, or too little, the investigation has continued. I have yet a new theory.
 
The only device that has changed in recent months is my mouse - I retired a Logitech for a MS mouse. I have 2 USB 2.0 ports (keyboard and mouse), and 4 USB 3.0 ports (2 in the front of the machine, 2 in the rear). ALL ports demonstrate the noise with the keyboard/mouse no USB 2.0 ports, and with the ODAC on any of the 3.0 ports.
 
I deleted the USB drivers and manually rebooted the machine and it automatically re-installed the same USB drivers. No dice.
 
I tried going into power settings to shut off the selective USB Suspend "feature". That also failed.
 
So I poked around Device Manager to see what devices were showing up under what USB paths. No matter where I plug in, the ODAC as well as an input device seem to show up under a "USB composite device", along with an "USB input device". So, it appears as if the ODAC shares with the mouse, while the Keyboard gets its own port. Then, I have the two front 3.0 ports, which I think are shared and I typically only use them for HDDs and other memory devices. They appear to be not in use, which is true.
 
Anyway, I once again moved the ODAC back to its original, seemingly trouble-free port. Then I moved the mouse from the USB 2.0 port to the other rear USB 3.0 port. So far so good, the ODAC is back to "behaving" normally. I am not at all sure if the USB 2.0 ports are "shared" with the USB 3.0 ports or if they have independent paths. But it would seem that switching mice may have caused a problem - perhaps starving the ODAC of power. I don't know as I've had success followed by a return of the bad noises. We'll see!

 

[sanakimpro]

 
As the static reminds me of clipping - either too much power, or too little, the investigation has continued. I have yet a new theory.
 
The only device that has changed in recent months is my mouse - I retired a Logitech for a MS mouse. I have 2 USB 2.0 ports (keyboard and mouse), and 4 USB 3.0 ports (2 in the front of the machine, 2 in the rear). ALL ports demonstrate the noise with the keyboard/mouse no USB 2.0 ports, and with the ODAC on any of the 3.0 ports.
 
I deleted the USB drivers and manually rebooted the machine and it automatically re-installed the same USB drivers. No dice.
 
I tried going into power settings to shut off the selective USB Suspend "feature". That also failed.
 
So I poked around Device Manager to see what devices were showing up under what USB paths. No matter where I plug in, the ODAC as well as an input device seem to show up under a "USB composite device", along with an "USB input device". So, it appears as if the ODAC shares with the mouse, while the Keyboard gets its own port. Then, I have the two front 3.0 ports, which I think are shared and I typically only use them for HDDs and other memory devices. They appear to be not in use, which is true.
 
Anyway, I once again moved the ODAC back to its original, seemingly trouble-free port. Then I moved the mouse from the USB 2.0 port to the other rear USB 3.0 port. So far so good, the ODAC is back to "behaving" normally. I am not at all sure if the USB 2.0 ports are "shared" with the USB 3.0 ports or if they have independent paths. But it would seem that switching mice may have caused a problem - perhaps starving the ODAC of power. I don't know as I've had success followed by a return of the bad noises. We'll see!

Great snooping! My current laptop hasn't given me any trouble with ODAC clipping/noise issues, so I can't do much more. If it ain't broke, huh? 
 
Hopefully things work out for you.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

 
As the static reminds me of clipping - either too much power, or too little, the investigation has continued. I have yet a new theory.
 
The only device that has changed in recent months is my mouse - I retired a Logitech for a MS mouse. I have 2 USB 2.0 ports (keyboard and mouse), and 4 USB 3.0 ports (2 in the front of the machine, 2 in the rear). ALL ports demonstrate the noise with the keyboard/mouse no USB 2.0 ports, and with the ODAC on any of the 3.0 ports.
 
I deleted the USB drivers and manually rebooted the machine and it automatically re-installed the same USB drivers. No dice.
 
I tried going into power settings to shut off the selective USB Suspend "feature". That also failed.
 
So I poked around Device Manager to see what devices were showing up under what USB paths. No matter where I plug in, the ODAC as well as an input device seem to show up under a "USB composite device", along with an "USB input device". So, it appears as if the ODAC shares with the mouse, while the Keyboard gets its own port. Then, I have the two front 3.0 ports, which I think are shared and I typically only use them for HDDs and other memory devices. They appear to be not in use, which is true.
 
Anyway, I once again moved the ODAC back to its original, seemingly trouble-free port. Then I moved the mouse from the USB 2.0 port to the other rear USB 3.0 port. So far so good, the ODAC is back to "behaving" normally. I am not at all sure if the USB 2.0 ports are "shared" with the USB 3.0 ports or if they have independent paths. But it would seem that switching mice may have caused a problem - perhaps starving the ODAC of power. I don't know as I've had success followed by a return of the bad noises. We'll see!

That seems like a valid theory to me. AFAIK the mainboard have different chipsets for USB2.0 and USB3.0

 

[MrMateoHead]

  That seems like a valid theory to me. AFAIK the mainboard have different chipsets for USB2.0 and USB3.0

Indeed - I need to revise the theory as my prior post was written sloppily.
 
So, 2 USB 3.0 ports, front, connected to the MB header.
 
4 USB 3.0 ports, rear.
2 USB 2.0 ports, rear.
 
So far, keeping the ODAC on its original USB 3.0 port, and connecting the "new" mouse to the adjacent USB 3.0 port, with a keyboard attached to the USB 2.0 port has seemed to be a solution to my problem, which is that the ODAC is producing a constant clipping / static that increases with volume. Since this has been working, I have not bothered to investigate further.
 
When I had left both the mouse and keyboard attached to the USB 2.0 ports, with the ODAC on any of the remaining USB 3.0 ports, I would hear static / clipping.
 
But then it dawned on me that I had heard the issue on my laptop, which has 2 USB 2.0 ports + 1 eSata / USB combo port. It also runs Windows 10. The ODAC was misbehaving on that computer as well, which had me thinking there was something wrong with my ODAC.
 
It also dawned on me that Windows 10 has been buggy since I first started using it months ago (e.g., the mysterious 'self-booting' computer bug, the need to uninstall/reinstall drivers to get them to work). I'm willing to bet that there is something going on with their USB drivers, but I can't "control" which drivers are in use as Windows is now auto-updating, using "generic" drivers and so forth. I could, if I detect an issue again, try to uninstall the generic 2.0 drivers or the 3.0 driver but of course I lose my mouse and keyboard lol. I will monitor this problem but miss the days of windows 7 when everything just worked as it should.

 

[Nachash]

Which gains should I use for the K701?