[4lex27]

Hello,
I have been using an iFi zen DAC 2 for the past year and it suddenly stopped working. I was using it together with an iFi zen CAN and a pair of hifiman Sundara without any issues.
Recently, the DAC suddenly stopped showing in my Audio devices. The DAC lights are ON though. After trying a bunch of solution I read on different forums which did not work, I have returned the DAC as it was still in waranty and received a replacement but the issue persisted. I know for sure the new DAC it's working, as I said it is brand new and I tried it on another PC and it worked. (plug and play, no additional software required)
Some of the things I have tried so far (in this order):

1. Trying different ports. I have tried every single USB 3 and USB 2 my PC has. They all work when I connect a different device to them but not the DAC. Weird thing, when I first got the brand new replacement and I plugged it in, it worked for like 10 seconds (got to listen to a song) then it disappeared.
2. Made sure I have latest windows 10 updates installed.
3. Disable windows power save mode to cut power to USB
4. switched to Windows 11
5. Uninstall and reinstall USB Controllers drivers
6. Used a separate power cord that I had from my ifi zen can amp and plugged it to the DAC

None of these worked.
Anybody experienced anything similar or has any ideas on how to fix? I have already contacted iFi support and waiting for a reply.
Thank you in advance!

 

[msing539]

Try disconnecting the DAC and then using USBDeview to locate and uninstall it. If there's anything else you don't have anymore or was a one time connect, you can remove those too. Then restart and give it another shot.

 

[4lex27]

Try disconnecting the DAC and then using USBDeview to locate and uninstall it. If there's anything else you don't have anymore or was a one time connect, you can remove those too. Then restart and give it another shot.

Thank you for the suggestion. I uninstalled everything except my mouse and keyboard but unfortunately I still do not see the DAC.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Of course, you have installed its driver:

https://ifi-audio.com/download-hub/

 

[4lex27]

Of course, you have installed its driver:

https://ifi-audio.com/download-hub/

Not at first. As I said I have been using it for a year, plug and play, no additional setup required. Same when I tried it on my friends PC.
But after it stopped working, yes. I have tried setting up the iFi software but didn't change anything. If I open that program it says "No devices connected".

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Maybe some windows update have messed with it. Try to look at that angle.

 

[Roseval]

Your DAC
- lights on so it gets power
- works on another PC
- don't need drivers (UAC2 compatible)

Very dark why it wont work on your PC as on other PC's it functions right.
Maybe the device enumeration fails.

Can you see it in the Device Manager? If so any error like "Device Failed Enumeration"?
Maybe try something like this: https://community.silabs.com/s/article/troubleshooting-basic-usb-enumeration-problems?language=en_US

 

[4lex27]

Your DAC
- lights on so it gets power
- works on another PC
- don't need drivers (UAC2 compatible)

Very dark why it wont work on your PC as on other PC's it functions right.
Maybe the device enumeration fails.

Can you see it in the Device Manager? If so any error like "Device Failed Enumeration"?
Maybe try something like this: https://community.silabs.com/s/article/troubleshooting-basic-usb-enumeration-problems?language=en_US

Thanks you. That is quite a reading. I ll go through it after work.
On short, no I have not seen that error. The dac does not show at all in Device Manager. While using USBDeview I have seen though some instances like "device descriptor request failed" and I have uninstalled it already.

 

[4lex27]

Maybe some windows update have messed with it. Try to look at that angle.

Most likely, but which one and how to fix it. I already updated from win10 to win11 trying to fix it but no luck. Probably I should to a clean install but that is quite a pain to do.

 

[Roseval]

"device descriptor request failed"

Might be one to Google e.g. https://softwarekeep.com/help-cente...quest-failed-unknown-usb-device-in-windows-10

 

[tomb]

Well, no one else is guessing the worst, so I will: the USB portion of your DAC is fried.* From what I've seen, any USB device that is operating correctly, will be recognized by a PC. This happens without any power connected to the USB device. (Indeed, why many devices themselves are powered by the USB-buss.) Even if there was a driver error or some other OS conflict, it would still recognize the connection, then display an error of some sort. However, if the USB interface is shot, you'll get nothing, nada, zip ...

* Note that this may only be the physical connection - bad or bent contacts, etc. So maybe not as serious as a fried circuit board, but as far as the PC is concerned: dead USB.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

When confirming that my DAC is working. I usually plug it to my Android smartphone by using UAPP/Neutron MP/HibyMusic. If it functions therefore dac is not at fault.

 

[4lex27]

Might be one to Google e.g. https://softwarekeep.com/help-cente...quest-failed-unknown-usb-device-in-windows-10

Already did all that. Was a dead end. Beside I noticed I get that error if I unplug the usb cable from the device while the other end it's still connected to the PC. So i am not entirely sure it's relevant.

 

[4lex27]

Well, no one else is guessing the worst, so I will: the USB portion of your DAC is fried.* From what I've seen, any USB device that is operating correctly, will be recognized by a PC. This happens without any power connected to the USB device. (Indeed, why many devices themselves are powered by the USB-buss.) Even if there was a driver error or some other OS conflict, it would still recognize the connection, then display an error of some sort. However, if the USB interface is shot, you'll get nothing, nada, zip ...

* Note that this may only be the physical connection - bad or bent contacts, etc. So maybe not as serious as a fried circuit board, but as far as the PC is concerned: dead USB.

It worked when I connected it to another PC.

 

[4lex27]

When confirming that my DAC is working. I usually plug it to my Android smartphone by using UAPP/Neutron MP/HibyMusic. If it functions therefore dac is not at fault.

Already confirmed the DAC is working. I connected it to another PC and it worked there.