Good morning from Athens Greece
I have a THETA DATA BASIC II Transport I use for years now and the coaxial input of the PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE DS DAC MK I I aquired recently from a friend does not play it or recognize it, it stays red on the touchscreen. I also have the older PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE DAC MK II with which the THETA DATA BASIC II transport plays through it’s coaxial input and plays fine for years now. My question is what changed with the PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE DS DAC, is it a firmware software issue or compitability or something else? I’ve tried other dacs with the THETA DATA BASIC II Transport and has no problem and plays fine except with the PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE DS DAC. I borrowed recently from a friend a PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE TRANSPORT PLAYER and the the coaxial on the PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE DS DAC plays OK. A reply and a solution would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.Nikos from Athens Greece.
What is the sample rate that you are trying to play? Is there any configuration option on the Theta which might cause up or down sampling? The DS (Mk I) plays 44.1, 88.2, 176.4, 352.8, 48, 96 and 192k sample rates. It doesn’t play, say 32k or 384k
Do you have the option of trying (as a test) another input on the DS? Perhaps an AES (XLR) or TOSLink cable?
Good evening from Athens Greece
Thank you very much for your swift reply. Sorry Ted but I’m not a tech guy. I don’t have the manual anymore and can’t find any specs online, I’ve contacted Theta Digital Support for the specs and a copy of the manual but still waiting for a reply. As i mentioned before the coaxial input on the DS DAC works fine with other gear, I don’t have the option of trying another input on the [DS] due to the lack of cables for AES (XLR) or TOSLink. I only found this online don’t know if it helps. [https://www.stereophile.com/content/theta-data-basic-cd-transport-measurements]
A reply and a solution would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Nikos from Athens Greece.
If the coax input on the DS works fine with other gear, then the problem has to be the coax cable, the cable being loose or the source. There are no options related to the RCA input of the DS except selecting it as an input and things like the DS volume control. Tho it’s probably not the issue, if the Theta Data Basic transport isn’t sending a bit stream in the standard S/PDIF format the DS might not recognize it. For example the DS may be insisting on particular values for some bits in the bitstream that Theta isn’t setting in the expected way, e.g. parity, valid, etc.
Perhaps someone else with some experience with the DS and the Theta Data Basic CD transport (or other newer Theta transports) can help.
Good evening from Athens Greece
Τhis is the reply from Theta Digital (I have no experience with the PS Audio Perfectwave DS DAC MK I. Does the manual for the unit mention anything above adjusting the input settings of the unit? Can the unit be set for all frequencies between 32kHz and 192kHz?
Regards,
John Baloff ).
I changed 4 digital cables they played fine with the PS Audio Perfectwave DS DAc MK I and the PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE TRANSPORT PLAYER, but not with the Theta Data Basic CD transport, though it played for years with the older dac PS Audio Perfectwave DAC MK II without trouble.
Thank you Ted for your time.
Nikos from Athens Greece.
Good evening from Athens Greece
Τhis is another reply from Theta Digital
(The Data Basic puts out a 44.1 kHz signal only. It will only support compact discs at 44.1kHz.
Regards,
John Baloff)
Thank you Ted for your time.
Nikos from Athens Greece
Knowing that it only outputs 44.1k simplifies things. Since the DS is working with other devices thru the coax input and there aren’t any options on the Theta transport that should affect format of the data it outputs the things that come to mind are: 1) cable issues, e.g. a loose cable and sometimes people have plugged the digital input in the wrong place on the back of the DS. 2) A hardware incompatibility between the DS and the Theta (e.g. the voltage levels on the coax are too low or too high.) 3) a software incompatibility, e.g. the DS expects different non-music bits in the bitstream than the Theta is providing. or 4) the Theta needs repair.
Perhaps calling PS Audio support might help, but it’s not a problem with the PS Audio part of your system and I’m not sure what else to recomend.
Not sure three data points will be helpful, but I too have a Theta Data Basic CD transport. I can confirm the player outputs at 44.1k (Redbook CD). Two of the three DSD DACs have worked fine with the Theta Data Basic. The third had an inoperable Coax output, confirmed by using with two different OPPO players.
My thought is Ted is on to something. Consider confirming the coax is connected to the proper coaxial output on the Theta Data, and two try various coax cables. I currently use a Nirvana coax cable, long in tooth as is the player, but extremely good IME. I have also used a Blue Jeans Cable Digital Coax cable, which is a fine budget cable for your situation.
Good luck.
Good evening from Athens Greece
Thank you both for the feedback Ted and Weedeewop.
4 digital cables(Siltech golden ridge 1,Theta Digital, monster digital, eichmann express cable) and all are working, tested with the DS Dac and the previous PS Audio Perfectwave MK II with the PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE TRANSPORT PLAYER so no cable trouble,pluged in the coaxial input firmly. I don’t have an digital XLR,or Optic cable. A hardware or a software incompatibility problem between the DS and the Theta might be an issue but I don’t know.The Theta Data Basic ΙΙ CD transport is also in fine order and no neeed for a repair. A friend suggested this, that it might work for me.
https://ifi-audio.com/products/spdif-ipurifier2/
Thank you both for your time.
Nikos from Athens Greece.
Good luck with the troubleshooting…
Thank you Scott!
kind regards
Nikos
Στις Παρ 26 Ιαν 2024 στις 2:21 π.μ., ο/η Scott via PS Audio <notifications@psaudio.discoursemail.com> έγραψε:
Since mine worked it is unlikely in my experience. I may have missed it, but have you substituted a different CD player with coax output into your PS Audio DAC coax input? It is possible your DSD DAC coax input is at fault.
Good morning from Athens Greece
Thank you Weedeewop for your reply. I borrowed recently from a friend a PS AUDIO PERFECTWAVE TRANSPORT CD PLAYER and the coaxial input on the DS DAC played fine. Something must be the issue between the DS and the Theta,but I don’t know whats wrong.
kind regards
Nikos
Στις Παρ 26 Ιαν 2024 στις 8:37 μ.μ., ο/η weedeewop via PS Audio <notifications@psaudio.discoursemail.com> έγραψε:
The Theta uses a flipflop reclocker at its output. There maybe some kind of issue with the clock frequency that drives it.
Good morning from Athens Greece
Thank you John A Sinsabaugh for your reply.
kind regards
Nikos
Στις Τετ 7 Φεβ 2024 στις 4:35 π.μ., ο/η John A Sinsabaugh via PS Audio <notifications@psaudio.discoursemail.com> έγραψε:
You are very welcome. I wish I could fix the issue that you are having.
Good Evening from Athens Greece
A friend suggested that this might work for me, if it’s a reclocking issue. Have you any feedback?
https://ifi-audio.com/products/spdif-ipurifier2/ 3
Thank you for your time.
Nikos from Athens Greece.
Στις Τετ 7 Φεβ 2024 στις 4:45 μ.μ., ο/η John A Sinsabaugh via PS Audio <notifications@psaudio.discoursemail.com> έγραψε: