[dennistdk]

Thanks for posting the follow up. It basically confirms exactly what the tests shown (and that it was not the cable or iOS usb driver fault that some kept insisting). It's a shame because the HA-2(SE) is a great product with a great form factor and features. I guess somebody will come up with a shielding mod at some point in time that will make it work again if Oppo won't recall them for a fix.

 

[anticute]

Thanks for posting the follow up. It basically confirms exactly what the tests shown (and that it was not the cable or iOS usb driver fault that some kept insisting). It's a shame because the HA-2(SE) is a great product with a great form factor and features. I guess somebody will come up with a shielding mod at some point in time that will make it work again if Oppo won't recall them for a fix.

Yeah, it's great apart from all these issues. I bought mine to have a DAC/amp that would be future proof, even with the newer generations of iPhones without headphone jack. Seems like that didn't work out, I feel pretty cheated. 
 
It's going to be interesting to see how Oppo treats the people with these issues now. Still waiting to see that awesome CS that's been mentioned by some people. IMO it's in situations like these that you'll really find out how much a company cares about their customers.
 
Anyway, I asked them about that, also asked about the 10.3 issue that people have been reporting in the other thread. Latest reply was:
 

This is something that we are investigating as we have received more reports in the past week since the 10.3 release was made available, but if the issue is with the iOS version, we do not know how likely it is that we will be able to make a firmware that can somehow fix this issue. It is more likely that we will need to convince Apple to roll back or at least adjust something in their operating system to resolve the issue.
 
Best Regards, 

Customer Service 
OPPO Digital, Inc.  162 Constitution Dr.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Service@oppodigital.com 
Tel: 650-961-1118 
Fax: 650-961-1119

 
They write that it is more likely that they will need to convince Apple, and in the previous reply they wrote that it's not likely that Apple will do a rollback.

 

[grimlock525]

 

 Looks like the worst case scenario has come true.  I hope Oppo is able to take this finding into account for future iterations of the HA-2, although if Apple did indeed change some low-level iOS driver behavior as they claim, it is not entirely Oppo's fault.  It's just unfortunate for consumers since the HA-2 is supposed to be one of the few portable DACs with official MFi certification, eliminating the need for the CCK.  On a more positive note, I'm happy to report that my setup is working well, with no more dropouts.  If pairing with a dedicated DAP or Android phone is a possibility, then HA-2 is still a compelling product.

 

[anticute]

 

 Looks like the worst case scenario has come true.  I hope Oppo is able to take this finding into account for future iterations of the HA-2, although if Apple did indeed change some low-level iOS driver behavior as they claim, it is not entirely Oppo's fault.  It's just unfortunate for consumers since the HA-2 is supposed to be one of the few portable DACs with official MFi certification, eliminating the need for the CCK.  On a more positive note, I'm happy to report that my setup is working well, with no more dropouts.  If pairing with a dedicated DAP or Android phone is a possibility, then HA-2 is still a compelling product.

Something like that. One of the main selling points for me was the MFI certification, it made me feel more secure in knowing that this would be a unit that I would be able to use for a long time to come. Silly me, I guess..

 

[ekrauss]

As you can see, the issue is related to Apple's change in their USB driver in iOS 10, as Oppo has indicated.

 

[ekrauss]

Thanks for posting the follow up. It basically confirms exactly what the tests shown (and that it was not the cable or iOS usb driver fault that some kept insisting). It's a shame because the HA-2(SE) is a great product with a great form factor and features. I guess somebody will come up with a shielding mod at some point in time that will make it work again if Oppo won't recall them for a fix.

It confirms that the fault is in Apple's USB driver introduced in iOS 10. Shielding is not the issue. Your analysis did not turn out to be correct. That's OK--I'm not pointing fingers at you and I know you attempted to isolate the issue, although in the end, the professional engineers at Oppo figured it out. Too bad Apple broke compatibility. Thankfully, the issue affects a minority of all users of iOS 10 and the HA-2. I have not experienced any problems, for example. However, I know that is not comforting to those users who have.

 

[grimlock525]

  Something like that. One of the main selling points for me was the MFI certification, it made me feel more secure in knowing that this would be a unit that I would be able to use for a long time to come. Silly me, I guess..

 
Yeah, normally this would be a deal breaker for me and I would've already returned my unit, but in this case when things are working as they should it's a really good experience. 

 

[dennistdk]

It confirms that the fault is in Apple's USB driver introduced in iOS 10.

No it does not. Did you actually read the reply? They say it's fixed by using a longer cable (to move the units apart) and it's mechanical in nature. Not a USB driver issue (the 10.3 thing is a different issue - it among other things break non-apple approved cck connections that some mojo owners with unoriginal cables are now dealing with).

 

[ekrauss]

Reread it. You are wrong. It has nothing to do with "shielding" and has to do with power handling by Apple's new iOS 10 USB driver.

 

[dennistdk]

To be honest I'm not really sure if it's because you don't understand the issue or the physics behind it -  or you are just trolling... they clearly say "This kind of interference is going to be hardware related, so you would need to use a longer Lightning cable so the HA-2SE is further aware from the iOS device, or we would need to redesign the HA-2SE to compensate for the increased signal noise of iOS 10." That is SHIELDING. And also they mention the amplification power (to the antenna) and that it is "mechanical in nature" (meaning not software / usb driver). And this is exactly what the empirical test data showed - and confirmed it worked when the items where no longer stacked (and even that the problem was there when stacked, but NOT connected by USB).
 
Not once does it say USB-driver in the official reply from Oppo. And a USB-driver doesn't change because you use a longer cable or move the items apart (unless you mean something else by that term). I agree it's likely (very probable) because of a change in iOS10 increasing antenna gain/power.
But feel free to document your claim and back it up with some actual data/documentation or empirical evidence. 

 

[jegnyc]

Anticute has posted three responses from Oppo (posts 4288, 4290 and 4292).  The first appears to refer to interference, the second and third to other issues.  Can Anticute did post the specific questions to which Oppo was responding in each case?

 

[anticute]

  Anticute has posted three responses from Oppo (posts 4288, 4290 and 4292).  The first appears to refer to interference, the second and third to other issues.  Can Anticute did post the specific questions to which Oppo was responding in each case?

 
The last reply from Oppo was a reply to a question from me about whether or not the issues with the amp had gotten worse in 10.3, not about the reboot issue specifically.
 
I don't know where ekrauss got his info from, but apparently it wasn't accurate. 
 
That is if he actually has contacts at Oppo at all and isn't just trolling, the latter starting to seem more and more likely with every reply he makes in this thread. Then again, he kept claiming that it was a driver issue, that magically would occur only in low signal areas and that could be resolved by putting the phone in airplane mode, which is pretty silly, so I didn't take his earlier claims too seriously either.. 
 

 

[grimlock525]

I too was a bit confused by the multiple responses from Oppo.  I do agree that their reference to "interference" does imply it is somehow related to a possible change in cellular signal strength as a result of iOS 10.  Furthermore, I don't believe their suggestion to get a longer cable is meant to have any impact on the USB data integrity between the iPhone and HA2.  A 2" vs a 6" USB cable is going to basically offer identical electrical characteristics; the difference in length is negligible in the context of electrical signals.
 
I think the only relevance of a longer USB cable is that it allows you to place the two devices further apart (something one of the Oppo responses also mention), which would certainly reduce the strength of any cellular radio interference affecting the HA-2.  Of course, this suggestion doesn't really help people who need to stack for a portable setup.

 

[anticute]

  I too was a bit confused by the multiple responses from Oppo.  I do agree that their reference to "interference" does imply it is somehow related to a possible change in cellular signal strength as a result of iOS 10.  Furthermore, I don't believe their suggestion to get a longer cable is meant to have any impact on the USB data integrity between the iPhone and HA2.  A 2" vs a 6" USB cable is going to basically offer identical electrical characteristics; the difference in length is negligible in the context of electrical signals.
 
I think the only relevance of a longer USB cable is that it allows you to place the two devices further apart (something one of the Oppo responses also mention), which would certainly reduce the strength of any cellular radio interference affecting the HA-2.  Of course, this suggestion doesn't really help people who need to stack for a portable setup.

Yeah, and they also talk about it being a problem caused by increased signal noise, and that it's hardware related. 
 
As you mention, the difference between a 2" and a 6" cable is more or less zero, and if the issue was related to this, they wouldn't recommend a longer cable

 

[grimlock525]

I wouldn't hold my breath, but there could be a slim chance that Apple might fix this.  If it turns out that amplification of the cellular radio might also affect other devices that were certified prior to the update, Apple might get enough pushback from other MFi-certified accessory makers to do something about this.  I can't speak for Oppo, but I know that if I was paying licensing/royalty fees to Apple in order to gain MFi certification, I would not be happy that they made an OS change which essentially rendered my product unusable for a large number of my customers.  Someone else already mentioned that some people are seeing issues with iOS10 devices connected via CCK, so this could be more widespread than just the HA-2.