I hate usb. No. It won’t do that.
Thanks! I’ll be so peed off it’s my brand new USB cable 
So I am expecting to see a new entry in the Output Devices dropdown list. I’m not going mad - yet…
Correct, new entry. I’ve used multiple USB cables with the Red with no issue but they were all previously used in other setups so I new they worked.
I just tried a new USB “Printer” (USB A → B) cable from the local stationery store.
Turned off both devices.
Powered up the DAC.
Powered up the Red.
Still no-go I’m not seeing any other option available in the Red’s Output Device list.
One end is plugged into the USB Out of the Red
The other is plugged into the USB Digital Input of the Mk2
There must be some sort of connection. I see the green led on the DAC. Also, while the Red is booting, the DAC displays 16/44. Once the Red has booted, I see --/-- on the DAC.
Maybe the Red or DAC is broken?
You don’t by chance still have the I2S cable connected do you? If so since it was the last output successfully used it will still have priority, so the USB won’t have a chance to see the Mk 2 and recognize the driver.
Solved! I had to cycle the DAC inputs from USB around to USB again.
Then refresh the Red. I now see the Mk2’s USB
Then enable in Roon
Now for some much deserved music!
Thanks for your patience.
Mark
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That’s great glad it was something simple after all.
No I didn’t have the HDMI cable connected. But I thought I’d throw caution to the wind and connect it so I could A/B between USB and I2S for sh!ts and giggles.
I thought I read where both I2S and USB outputs were active on the Red?
No drama either way…
Now that it sees the Mk 2’s USB driver it should work according to Golden Sound. Never tried it though with two outputs connected at once. I think Tony may have. Which one you prefer may come down more to the cable than the two inputs on the Mk 2 unless it is the same cable model for both. My I2S cable is Inakustik and the USB Tubulus so for me the comparison wouldn’t really be valid if I had a Mk 2.
I’m only trying USB to see if the loud thumps between PCM ↔ DSD transitions that I get with I2S are gone with USB. It may even have been you (a while back) that suggested I try this.
The latest Mk2 update didn’t include FPGA firmware sadly, and the thumps are causing my BHK-250 to go into protect mode
Cheers
Mark
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When the new FPGA software comes out, hopefully the choice between I2S over HDMI vs USB will come down to just sound quality… and maybe, I wonder, reliable connectivity. The trials you went through to get USB running are also of interest. I have been thinking of getting the Red so as to avoid USB connectivity problems with the MK2. Would be really interesting for me to hear how reliable the connection is for you over a period of days with cycles of turning kit on and off. My streamer is normally always on so its library updates for new music on my server. But sometimes (once or twice a week) when I power on the MK2 from the remote, I have to restart the streamer to avoid slight hissing (nowhere near as bad as the DSD-PCM transition whitenoise) over the USB. Annoys me vs. network connected devices, which I know the MK2 is not. I am only just returning to USB after years away and it would annoy me to buy the Red and still to have the same problems. But at least the Red has I2S over HDMI, as well as HQPlayer NAA, which the AirLens will not have “thanks” to Conversdigital.
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Yes, I have both connected at the same time. The truck to getting that to work (I use mConnect, which may matter) is after switching the DS to the new input, cycling the Red’s web page Audio tick boxes (say, from UPNP to Roon), saving, then switching back and saving. The newly selected input should then work.
Try selecting and activating the dac in Roon. That is what I did to get it to work with my holo may dac
Ethernet to red. USB out red to usb in dac.
Took a while but it works and sounds good
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Welcome @nrpdoc !
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Thanks!
I let my new fancy USB cable burn in in 24/7 for three days.
Good news
The loud thumps between PCM ↔ DSD transitions has gone.
Bad News
I get a fraction of a second glitch in the music every 5 or so minutes. Doesn’t matter what format. It’s seeming random.
I think I2S sounds superior. “Stronger” sounding was my first impression.
So I am back using I2S and being very careful when starting a new album.
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Red is packing its theater things and moving onto the big stage as Roon bridge for my main.
My fanless mint box kicked the dust after like a 10 year run. RIP…you performed admirably to say the least.
So…dipswitch changes, here I come. I’ve also not upgraded the device’s firmware after reading some of your comments here a few months ago.
No issues with firmware here or any other of the other noted quirks in this thread. But then again I’m not using a DS DAC with it’s on set of quirks and issues.
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Looking forward to hearing about your experience and how it compares to what you are used to…
Following up…
I have not been able to listen to the “Big Rig” for any significant length of time of late.
But two nights ago, I was able to break off from the pack and spend some quality time alone listening to some of my favorite music files via the Holo Red over I2S into the DS Sr. MK I DAC.
It seemed to me the Red had finally come into its own, with what I perceived to be a much more neutral tonality (no longer “murky”), better (more natural) rendering of higher frequencies and improved resolution of lower-level details.
The system sounded great again last night. So much so that I think I am now ready to pull the Bridge II network card and listen to see if I can eke out a bit more perceived resolution of low level details and greater clarity.
Hopefully, I can do some experimenting a little later this week.
Cheers, all.
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