I am in love with my new DS, but I experienced a weird issue today. I started hearing occasional pops, crackles and the odd stutter or drop out. At first, I thought it was only streaming Pandora via the SPDIF. When I switched to the AES/EBU and PWT, it appeared to disappear, but then started happening again. I monitored my system without music playing, but the volume up and there were no noises at all. I have a tube preamp, so I wanted to see if it was a tube going bad. Nope…or at least I think not.
Finally, I rebooted the DS and the PWT, but left everything else on. Turned the DS and PWT back on and, voila, no pops or dropouts for 30 minutes. Strange, huh? I will keep monitoring this for a few days, but I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this and if it could be a function of static build up (20 degrees outside here right now, furnace on full blast and very dry) or that the DAC’s buffers just needed flushing.
This might be related to the USB cable being used to feed the DirectStream. The symptoms sound very similar to what I experienced with one particular cable, and it’s why there’s a pinned post about cables that do or do not work with the DS.
Try replacing the cable with another USB cable – even a cheap one from Rat Shack – to see if the problem goes away. As Ted will attest, not all cables are built to USB spec.
If you’re not using USB to the DS, then… never mind.
This is somewhat non related but if you’ve got forced air gas heat get a whole house humidifier!!! Do not wait, do it tomorrow!!! They are fairly inexpensive but the health benefits are HUGE… also if the air has the correct humidity you can keep the temperature in the house lower because warm humid air feels warmer than warm dry air (this saves you cash and will in just a couple of years pay for the humidifier) Also your furniture lasts longer, leather doesn’t get dried out, every single thing in you house but especially YOU will feel better…
Here’s another bit of fact… the average american home that is well insulated, that uses forced air heat actually has lower humidity in the winter than the Sahara Desert!
Having a whole house humidifier also helps to prevent colds! The mucous membranes in your nose and throat act as a barrier to viruses. When a house is super dry the mucous membranes get dried out and they don’t block the viruses as well, hence more susceptibility to colds and flu!!
And lastly your hifi will sound better, and actually last longer!!!
vhiner1 said
It's a relief to know I am not alone on this. Has Ted or anyone weighed in on the possible causes?
Nothing comes to mind except if your unit was an early one and you haven't upgraded your software. The original software that was shipped had a bug in the AES/EBU, S/PDIF, TOSLink receiver code that could cause symptoms like that in some situations.
Btw, Ted, I am astounded by the transparency of the DS. I want to handle it with care. My practice is to mainly leave it on, but reboot every week or so. Is that ok, or should I just leave it on unless an issue arises? Thanks for designing a great product.
I leave mine on all the time, putting it in standby using the big blue button on the left when I am tired of the display/lights. I have never needed to reboot it.
I leave mine on except during a lightning storm. When I’m not actively developing on it I never have to reboot it. Putting it in standby when you aren’t using it (or turning off the display) might be a good idea. My bet is that the display is the weakest link (as they almost always are.)