Been a long time since I've posted due to being torn in other directions, here goes....
Finally had to upgrade my notebook from XP 32-bit to Win7 64-bit, and was planning to do that to my desktop too. I'd read that a lot of folks have had issues with the E-MU "beta" driver for my trusty old 0404 USB on Win7 64-bit, so as a preemptive strike, I ordered a VDACii from a vendor via Amazon.
I previously owned an iBasso D2 Boa for use while traveling with the notebook, and neither it nor the 0404 USB suffered from any problems with transmitting computer noise to the analog outputs on either my notebook or desktop. Both worked just as they should have, on both machines, via DirectSound or ASIO (native 32 bit driver for the 0404 USB, ASIO4ALL for the D2 Boa....no odd pops or clicks, no "funny computer noises" bleeding through to the outputs, using various player apps including several versions of Foobar or Media Monkey.) All was well, and I became a staunch devotee of USB audio and getting the audio circuitry out of the box, so to speak.
Well....it became clear very quickly that the 64 bit driver for the 0404 USB did not like to play on the notebook...not at all. Eventually I'd get a blue screen and end up having to go to a restore point prior to the install of that driver to get things stable again. So I was glad when the VDACii arrived today....for about 30 minutes.
The notebook was busy with a Windows Update, so I ran the VDACii on the desktop first (still running trusty old XPSP3 32-bit and Foobar 0.8.3, along with a 3.x version of Media Monkey.) The device was quickly recognized and installed just fine. However, every time I started a new track in any player app (including WMP) I heard a pop, the track started, another pop, then a crackle over the music...and the same thing happened when I performed a seek within a track when the sound restarted. Any player app, any cut, running it via DS or ASIO4ALL...same behavior.
Transferred the unit over to the notebook....and as soon as it was connected to any USB port on the notebook, and the outputs connected to my CKKIII, I heard constant static, cyclic crackling, and intermittent "beeping" at a relatively high level in my HD600's, regardless of where the volume pot was set on my CKKIII. I tried four different USB cables, two with ferrites, two without, and it was the same deal with all of them. I went ahead and tested it with both Foobar 1.1.1 and Media Monkey...using DS and WASAPI...and still heard the popping and crackling on starting a cut or when seeking. The notebook, VDAC wall wart, and computer were all connected to the same powerstrip.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that my notebook likely has more noise present on the USB ground than it should...but neither the 0404 USB or the D2-Boa evidenced any of the static/crackling/beeping on the analog outs! I was able to use the 0404 USB with the 64 bit driver on the notebook with my CKKIII for about an hour after the last install, and never, ever heard any bleedthrough of computer noise using either of 2 cables I also tried with the VDACii.
Seems to me that there is a design flaw in the VDACii in that the analog outputs are not adequately isolated from the USB ground on the input. I'm not exactly open to buying a new notebook at this point. The popping and crackling on starting or seeking in a cut, regardless of the computer, OS, player app, or output config on the player app was also a dealbreaker.
Anybody else experience similar issues with the VDACii? I'd email support at Musical Fidelity if they provided an address, but alas there isn't one provided on their web site!
My apologies if this has already been discussed...my absence from the forum has been due to a detached retina that makes it quite hard to read now, so I might have missed something when I did a quick search for any posts regarding this.
Finally had to upgrade my notebook from XP 32-bit to Win7 64-bit, and was planning to do that to my desktop too. I'd read that a lot of folks have had issues with the E-MU "beta" driver for my trusty old 0404 USB on Win7 64-bit, so as a preemptive strike, I ordered a VDACii from a vendor via Amazon.
I previously owned an iBasso D2 Boa for use while traveling with the notebook, and neither it nor the 0404 USB suffered from any problems with transmitting computer noise to the analog outputs on either my notebook or desktop. Both worked just as they should have, on both machines, via DirectSound or ASIO (native 32 bit driver for the 0404 USB, ASIO4ALL for the D2 Boa....no odd pops or clicks, no "funny computer noises" bleeding through to the outputs, using various player apps including several versions of Foobar or Media Monkey.) All was well, and I became a staunch devotee of USB audio and getting the audio circuitry out of the box, so to speak.
Well....it became clear very quickly that the 64 bit driver for the 0404 USB did not like to play on the notebook...not at all. Eventually I'd get a blue screen and end up having to go to a restore point prior to the install of that driver to get things stable again. So I was glad when the VDACii arrived today....for about 30 minutes.
The notebook was busy with a Windows Update, so I ran the VDACii on the desktop first (still running trusty old XPSP3 32-bit and Foobar 0.8.3, along with a 3.x version of Media Monkey.) The device was quickly recognized and installed just fine. However, every time I started a new track in any player app (including WMP) I heard a pop, the track started, another pop, then a crackle over the music...and the same thing happened when I performed a seek within a track when the sound restarted. Any player app, any cut, running it via DS or ASIO4ALL...same behavior.
Transferred the unit over to the notebook....and as soon as it was connected to any USB port on the notebook, and the outputs connected to my CKKIII, I heard constant static, cyclic crackling, and intermittent "beeping" at a relatively high level in my HD600's, regardless of where the volume pot was set on my CKKIII. I tried four different USB cables, two with ferrites, two without, and it was the same deal with all of them. I went ahead and tested it with both Foobar 1.1.1 and Media Monkey...using DS and WASAPI...and still heard the popping and crackling on starting a cut or when seeking. The notebook, VDAC wall wart, and computer were all connected to the same powerstrip.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that my notebook likely has more noise present on the USB ground than it should...but neither the 0404 USB or the D2-Boa evidenced any of the static/crackling/beeping on the analog outs! I was able to use the 0404 USB with the 64 bit driver on the notebook with my CKKIII for about an hour after the last install, and never, ever heard any bleedthrough of computer noise using either of 2 cables I also tried with the VDACii.
Seems to me that there is a design flaw in the VDACii in that the analog outputs are not adequately isolated from the USB ground on the input. I'm not exactly open to buying a new notebook at this point. The popping and crackling on starting or seeking in a cut, regardless of the computer, OS, player app, or output config on the player app was also a dealbreaker.
Anybody else experience similar issues with the VDACii? I'd email support at Musical Fidelity if they provided an address, but alas there isn't one provided on their web site!
My apologies if this has already been discussed...my absence from the forum has been due to a detached retina that makes it quite hard to read now, so I might have missed something when I did a quick search for any posts regarding this.
