[cats4cans]

Is the 1421 good to use with iems? Any background hiss?

It’s not ideal, but might work depending on the sensitivity of your IEMs. I tried it with my first IEMs and there was enough hiss to be distracting so I didn’t bother to try again until tonight. Had one that was okay and one was borderline.

 

[Anaz]

Is the 1421 good to use with iems? Any background hiss?

Not sure about the 1421, but as a datapoint the 2541 pairs very nicely with Z1R IEMs and there is no background hiss.

 

[lostrockets]

i have a soekris dac 1321 that was working fine until the other week when it just stopped working with no audio output

tried switching all of the inputs usb,tos,coax none work.

i can see the level since the light turns red, but no output.

also when plugging in usb, the entire unit just powers off.

is there any way to troubleshoot or fix this?

emailed soekris with no response.

 

[cats4cans]

i have a soekris dac 1321 that was working fine until the other week when it just stopped working with no audio output

tried switching all of the inputs usb,tos,coax none work.

i can see the level since the light turns red, but no output.

also when plugging in usb, the entire unit just powers off.

is there any way to troubleshoot or fix this?

emailed soekris with no response.

I’m pretty sure it’s a small operation, maybe even a one man shop. Sometimes it can take him a while to get in touch depending on what else is going on. He does post on this thread sometimes, but it’s been a month. You might try messaging @soekris.

 

[hpamdr]

You can try to give a test the device using commands from a TTY. Give a look on how to install custom filter or firmware and use commands to get current state,...
Sometimes, you can have no sound and or no way to change it from the knob due to wrong manipulation. Using commands you can set and change pretty much all options. Also read carefully the manual about storing volume...
@soekris can be a bit hard to contact and get response quickly.

 

[KUROKOCCHL]

On the Soekris 2541, is the USB input straight to PC bad and is AES supposed to be significantly better?

 

[sajunky]

On the Soekris 2541, is the USB input straight to PC bad and is AES supposed to be significantly better?

If not isolated port, it can sound very good or not so, or even bad. Just try how it works for you.

 

[KUROKOCCHL]

If not isolated port, it can sound very good or not so, or even bad. Just try how it works for you.

will use AES with a DDC eventually and compare the inputs to see if its needed

 

[Anaz]

On the Soekris 2541, is the USB input straight to PC bad and is AES supposed to be significantly better?

from p. 2 of the 2541 user manual:
"The dac2541 R-2R DAC circuit is fully isolated from the noisy computer USB interface and the SPDIF inputs are also all transformer isolated"

So you're good with either USB or AES - this is the only dac I'm aware of that has isolated SPDIF inputs.

(personally, I prefer the 2541 fed by the SU6 via AES rather than straight USB - maybe the SU6 has a better clock ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

 

[KUROKOCCHL]

from p. 2 of the 2541 user manual:
"The dac2541 R-2R DAC circuit is fully isolated from the noisy computer USB interface and the SPDIF inputs are also all transformer isolated"

So you're good with either USB or AES - this is the only dac I'm aware of that has isolated SPDIF inputs.

(personally, I prefer the 2541 fed by the SU6 via AES rather than straight USB - maybe the SU6 has a better clock ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Thank you! I'll likely test the SU-6 sometime since it has a pretty lenient return policy compared to the other DDCs I'm looking at but it sounds like the Soekris might still be great without it

 

[Basco]

Thank you! I'll likely test the SU-6 sometime since it has a pretty lenient return policy compared to the other DDCs I'm looking at but it sounds like the Soekris might still be great without it

Hi,

Owning a DAC2541by my own I had the same questions regarding Isolation and DDC to Søren and This was his reply:

galvanic Isolation:
The dac2541 already have all digital inputs isolated so an USB isolater would be redundant....

DDC:
Q: Don't you think that the 2541 would improve from a DDC?

A:
Companies like to sell you all kind of unneeded things, and some people buy into their sales pitches.... Might improve substandard USB
interfaces, but:

The dac2541 have a very good and already isolated USB interface. And an
already great clock circuit.

Hope This helps:
In the end it’s try and error.
Back then I was thinking about this DDC (but never tried it)

https://www.mutec-net.com/product_mc-3-plus-usb.php

 

[sajunky]

Owning a DAC2541by my own I had the same questions regarding Isolation and DDC to Søren and This was his reply:

galvanic Isolation:
The dac2541 already have all digital inputs isolated so an USB isolater would be redundant....

DDC:
Q: Don't you think that the 2541 would improve from a DDC?

A:
Companies like to sell you all kind of unneeded things, and some people buy into their sales pitches.... Might improve substandard USB
interfaces, but:

The dac2541 have a very good and already isolated USB interface. And an
already great clock circuit.

Well, one level up and all DACs sound the same.


When talking about transparency level, seriously:

Level 1. All DACs sound the same. /ignorant/
Level 2. DACs sound different, but all ports are well isolated, there is no reason for additional noise protection. /unforgiving/
Level 3. F*-k, I had supermarket grade system. Adding DDC improves sound, but cables make no difference. /enlighting/
Level 4. Adding power conditioner improves sound so much, now I can hear difference between cables and ground boxes make a magic! /addicting/
Level 5. Oh... Adding external 10MHz clock transforms my system to a different level! /?/
.....

 

[Sam Poon]

Deleted