Most of my music listening is through Air Lens, Qobuz, and the DSD MKII, and the sound quality is so good that I rarely play CDs anymore. However, occasionally I bring out my SACDs, which I play via the DMP, and I experience a loud ticking sound from the right speaker. I hope the next software update will fix the issue. It’s very frustrating to listen to classical music with crackling in the right speaker, not just between tracks but even in the middle of the pieces.
Yesterday I tried to play this Mahler album, and the ticking noise was quite noticiable…
eral63, It has been awhile since I have look at this topic, so if I get this wrong, please forgive me. I am guessing you run the MKII directly into your power amp? I run my MKII into my preamp and then into my power amp and I have no ticking problem, even when I crank it up.
If you can solve the ticking problem, then I recommend you replace the DMP with the PST. I have about 600 SACDs and they have never sounded better than when I play them through the PST.
My setup is as follows: Intel NUC running ROON, streaming Qobuz to Air Lens and DS DAC MKII. The HDMI cable between the Air Lens and DAC is a Wireworld Silver Sphere. From the DAC, I use balanced XLR to the BHK Pre, and then to BHK 300 monoblocks. Turning the DS DAC on and off doesn’t help; the ticking noise persists. I’ve also tried reinstalling Massive software, but that doesn’t help either.
@tonyplachy I have not been in contact with anyone from PS Audio. Since I live in Norway, it is not very practical to send my DS DAC MKII to the headquarters. I’m a bit unsure whether the issue lies in the hardware, i.e., on a circuit board, or in the software. However, I assume it is a hardware problem and not a software issue, as everyone would likely experience the same problem when playing SACDs if it were software-related. It’s possible that my local dealer could fix this with support from PS Audio. I might check with my local dealer here in Norway.
eral, If your local dealer cannot help you, you need to send an email to Paul McGowan ( paul@psaudio.com ). He will help you ( Paul does not want unhappy customers anywhere in the world ). Lay out your problem, what gear you have, what volume settings you use, etc.
Was there ever resolution to the problems people have experienced with SACD-related noise or ticking with the Mkii DAC?
I have some great SACD discs that I simply cannot listen to due to the noise. As others noted- this is only evident with SACD.
The ticking and the occasional drop-out are disappointing because the sound quality is wonderful in the absence of these distractions.
The long thread I found here on ticking appears to have suddenly concluded… but I never read about any true resolution to this problem. People suggested changing ground settings or powering the DAC off/on… but never seemed like a permanent solution based on comments.
Is there an official and true remedy to Mkii DAC SACD ticking?
I haven’t followed all the changes people noticed from one firmware/fpga change to the next, but I did correspond/test with Ted playing SACDs from the PST to the MKII in the early fpga versions and ones he was testing. The only ticks I ever heard were at the very beginning/end of tracks, so not that distracting, but annoying nonetheless. While I was testing with Ted, at some point he seemed to get that cleared up (on my system anyhow). The last couple fgpa versions have been clean for me with SACD playback, with the exception of a very quiet tick I hear at only the very end of an SACD after the music is over, so no biggie. Might be a call to customer service is in order for you to see if they can help redolve your issue?
