[PowerPaul86]

Did you take a look inside?

Maybe the OPA isn't properly connected to the Compass, try removing him and inserting him again.

 

[Sparky14]

Will do, I'm at work, so won't be able to pop open the case until I take it home.

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Arggh, now my R channel is out again. Didn't unplug anything, just turned it off for 30 minutes. Turned it back on and no R sound. Rats.

I had the same problem with the preamp out line, opened it and found a disconnected cable that I had to solder. No big deal but it should not have had happened.

 

[Sparky14]

Ugh, I'm not at all handy. If I've got to solder something, I'd better put on some protective gear.

I'm now getting a very low signal from the R channel. I'll have to try the preamp out at home, see if that signal is affected or if it is just the amp/headphone connection.

 

[jsplice]

This is one of the reasons I chose to buy from Pacific Valve instead of direct from Audio-gd. Sure, I could have saved a few bucks, but having read about the several issues that people have experienced with the Compass, I knew that it would be much easier (and cheaper) to send it back to Pacific Valve inside the US rather than sending it all the way back to China. I bought direct from China about a year ago (a Yulong DAC...piece of junk) and that was a bit of a nightmare; fortunately the ebay seller was very helpful in the whole matter. I have no problem trying other Chinese audio products, as I've heard many good things about a lot of the other Audio-gd products as well, but from here on out I will only deal with domestic resalers of those products just to avoid headaches when issues do arise.

 

[Sparky14]

Agreed, but I've heard only positives about Audio-gd, so I figured it was worth a shot.

Kingwa has replied that they may have gotten a bad set of volume pots, a few have had one channel problems. I can send it back for a replacement or try the repair myself.

Going to go to FedEx over lunch and see how much it will cost to ship it. Audio-gd will cover only as much as I paid to have it shipped....so hopefully my cost will be close to their cost.

Could a newbie replace the volume pots on a Compass? Looking at the internal pics on the webpage, I wouldn't even know what one looks like.

 

[Sparky14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Could a newbie replace the volume pots on a Compass? Looking at the internal pics on the webpage, I wouldn't even know what one looks like.

Hey Compass owners, can anybody answer this? Need to know so I can tell Kingwa to send me pots or if I have to ship my new Compass back.

Thanks!

 

[crapback]

Have you ever desoldered or soldered anything before? There really isn't that much involved in that job and there are tutorials on the web that can teach you everything you would need to know to do it.

If audio-gd will cover at least most of the shipping cost, I would personally rather have the warranty work done by them if it were my compass.

 

[elbuzzard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Agreed, but I've heard only positives about Audio-gd, so I figured it was worth a shot. Kingwa has replied that they may have gotten a bad set of volume pots, a few have had one channel problems. I can send it back for a replacement or try the repair myself. Going to go to FedEx over lunch and see how much it will cost to ship it. Audio-gd will cover only as much as I paid to have it shipped....so hopefully my cost will be close to their cost. Could a newbie replace the volume pots on a Compass? Looking at the internal pics on the webpage, I wouldn't even know what one looks like.

that sucks sparky. They are burning them in for a hundred hours it might be worth 5 mins to QA them at that time before they send them half way around the world. I have been pretty happy with my Compass and the service of A-GD. But this is definitely a mark against their QA process.

 

[Sparky14]

Thanks guys, I'll just send it back for replacement.

Looks like I'll be out of pocket $20-$30 more....not a big deal on a $340 purchase.

 

[guitarizt]

I just tried my audio engine a2 speakers on my computer without the compass and they sound horrible using the stock onboard realtek soundcard. Not even enjoyable to listen to imo.

 

[blue_lammer]

Hey I have a quick question to those with golden ears. I can't tell the difference between the DACs of the Compass and that of the Chaintech AV-710 (Wolfson WM8728). Does this mean I should stop upgrading my equipment or am I okay since the DACs are about the same?

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue_lammer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey I have a quick question to those with golden ears. I can't tell the difference between the DACs of the Compass and that of the Chaintech AV-710 (Wolfson WM8728). Does this mean I should stop upgrading my equipment or am I okay since the DACs are about the same?

I'm envious of you.

 

[Kpalsm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K3cT /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm envious of you.

My opinion (and that's all it is) is that the only time a solid-state piece of equipment will sound different than another is when one (or both) are poorly made and are "colouring" the sound due to interference or something similar (for example, onboard audio in a computer has all kinds of interference and most people say it sounds horrible, which is why guitarizt's speakers sound that way). I believe the same thing about cables too, a cable is a cable (as long as it's a short run anyway) and the only thing you really have to worry much about is interference. This post may be opening a can of worms, I hope it doesn't. I know many who feel the same way that I do.

That said, there's something to be said for psychoacoustics, and auditory illusion; that is, subjective human perception of sound. In other words, people hear things differently than others (some things sound good to some while bad to others) and people may believe they hear a difference in sound when in there is no measurable difference. That's not a bad thing either, placebo is fine as long as you accept it for what it is and enjoy it.

Maybe the Compass really does "burn in" as people have suggested...I've never experienced break-in of anything but a moving mechanical object, such as a speaker or headphone, so until I do I'm going to stick by my opinion that it doesn't happen; my theory is people adjust to the Compass. Maybe some day I'll buy one and someone will throw this post in my face and make me eat it, but till then...

Now that I've gone off on that rant...not having actually listened to either pieces of equipment I have no opinion to offer you on the differences between the Compass and the AV-710. Sorry about that but I had to say what I said anyway

 

[K3cT]

Sometimes this perception of change is not something you will get immediately upon 1 or 2 minutes of comparing the same music track across your gears. Try to listen to your equipment for several days and then switch to the other and sometimes you will be amazed by how much subtle differences there are.