I just tried the Sprout100 and was very disappointed. While it works with Windows 10 and Mac, it apparently has limited success with Linux. I tried multiple versions of Linux, different hardware, even bought a new NUC to try. This was supposed to connect to my Raspberry Pi 3 but it did not work. I have run no less than 5 different USB DACs with that Pi, all worked great, even DSD. It works with USB Audio 2.0 devices, period. Is there something wrong with the Sprout100’s USB implementation?
On some device/OS combinations, there wasn’t even a USB connection negotiated successfully. On others the OS would see the device. It would show up as an audio device, but failed to open the mixer device. The best result on some combinations was that it would be able to open the mixer device, but fails to play anything at all. I’ve been running Linux for audio for years and never had a device behave this way. And yes, I connected it to my Mac and it worked, but Macs don’t really support bit-perfect as all PCM is routed through coreaudio. I do not see this as an OS issue, but rather an issue with compliance with the USB Audio 2.0 standard. That standard is OS-independent. I also have an Onkyo DAP that works with USB DACs and that did not work either.
It’s a shame I was really looking forward to using this device as it has been very well reviewed.
Our Customer Support team should be reaching out to you tomorrow when they are back in. They should be able to help get you going on Linux with Sprout100.
I’ve seen posts like this here a few times and have also wondered because like umiami91, I haven’t had any issues. Perhaps there’s a problem with the USB component or the firmware on some units?
I truly could not be happier with Ropieee. That’s one that earned a donation from me. In fact, I should probably send him another as he keeps making it better.
Well, that’s encouraging then. Thanks for the info. I searched this forum this past weekend and saw that some people had no issues with linux while others seemed to have some issues. And 1 of the posts made me discouraged as it sounded like PS is not supporting it. But the quick response from mattc shows otherwise. And I also hope this gets sorted. Playing through it from my mac tonight makes me want to keep it, but it has to work in my current (and probably future) setups.
@umiami91 what Pi version/model are you running? @rkosara what hardware+OS/distro are you running?
Hello dears,
me to I am using the sprout100 with a nuc6i3 running ubuntu server and roon bridge without any problem.I use it since 3 weeks and work fine.
Tried it on a nuc8i3 and a nuc5ppyb with ubuntu, centos and gentoo. The results were described in the 1st post. Also tried on an raspberry pi 3 model b with raspbian and dietpi, and a raspi 2 model b with raspbian. No luck with those either. The pi2 could not even negotiate the usb connection.
The pi3 with raspbian is my actual music playback device and that has worked with several usb dacs. I hope their support helps fix this issue. I do like the amp, but it needs to work with my setup.
Sorry, I only just saw your question. I’m running it from an RPi 3A and used a 3B before that, both DietPi (which is what I’m still running) and RoPieee (for a short time). They all worked without issue. The only thing I needed to do in DietPi, I believe, was pick “USB DAC” or similar as the output device. But I’m not sure right now.
Have you heard from PS Audio support? I figure they should know what can go wrong here and have some idea how to fix it.
@mattc Thanks for such a fast response last night, but support has not yet reached out to me today. I can only give it another day or 2 before I will need to return the unit.
Thanks, I have been in touch with customer service and was recommended an exchange/RMA. Its strange as the unit is “kinda” working. It works with my mac, and almost seems like it should work with my other systems. Hopefully, the replacement unit does not have any issues and I will get to enjoy listening to the Sprout in its full capacity this weekend.
Replacement unit came in from Amazon and exhibits the same behavior. It just does not work with most of my devices, while these devices have worked with several different USB DACs.