Schiit Loki - DSD-only for 149 USD

[JavierS]

I just received my Loki today and it's apparently a defective device. I have it setup in JR Media Center 19. The box lights up; the 2nd light comes on when I play a DSD file; The pass thru with my other DAC works. But--I have no sound at all from this box. I even setup a zone for PCM to DSD. Again, the box lights up that it detects the DSD being played and Media Center shows the file playing. But no sound.

 

I have an email in to Schiit, we'll see if they come up with anything. But it looks bad at this point.

 

Have you cheched the "DSD bitstream in DoP format" box (under "audio"->"device settings") and set "Bistream" to DSD (under "Settings"->"Bitstream")?

[Miska]

Have you cheched the "DSD bitstream in DoP format" box (under "audio"->"device settings") and set "Bistream" to DSD (under "Settings"->"Bitstream")?

 

I don't know anything about JRMC, but IIRC Loki lights up the DSD light only when it's receiving a valid DoP stream.

 

Edit: I just confirmed, the second LED doesn't light up if you play PCM, only when you play DoP...

[WVStarship]

First of all, thanks to all who are trying to help me through this.

 

Miska: I hooked the Loki up to a 2nd computer using a different (shorter) USB cable. Unfortunately, that didn't help. And yes, Loki is definitely receiving a valid stream. I just can't seem to get it to output any sound to my amp.

 

Paul: This is a tough one. I set up 2 zones: One to play DSD files and one to play my PCM as DSD. The former zone's volume control doesn't work --the setting's down to zero and I can't get the slider to move. I thought perhaps this is disabled when native DSD files are being played (does anyone know?). However the PCM to DSD zone does have an active volume control and there is no sound, even though Loki lights up to confirm a valid stream.

 

JavierS: I have set up bitstream as per the instructions on Schiit's website. I don't have a "DSD bitstream in DoP format" box under my device settings. Are you using JRMC 19? I noticed that the instructions/ picture of Media Center on Schiit's site also doesn't match up exactly to what I have in my software. The device is set as "Schitt Audio DSD Device (WASAPI)"

[ted_b]

It's the box one or two below that, called bitstream. Set it for DoP if it isn't already. Newer builds of JRiver on Windows automatically reduces the DSD/DoP bitstream radio button choices, meaning it only shows "DoP" for non-ASIO drivers; does not show "DSD" (meaning native ASIO DSD) as a bitstream pick if an ASIO driver isn't loaded.

 

Managing two computers and two USB connections is not a simple task in some cases; it's why I've said all along that Schiit's PCM passthru is somewhat disingenuous, or certainly over-simplified...to manage two DACS and two USB connections requires driver restarts, etc in most cases. The easiest would be two computer servers, frankly.

[JavierS]

Sorry, you are both right. The box I mentioned only appears when ASIO output is selected (V. 19.0.100).

[WVStarship]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't know the difference between DSD vs DoP.

 

In any event, I had the bitstream set to DoP and I still get no sound.

[ted_b]

Have you tried rebooting your server since you changed drivers or settings? Often a computer will not handshake correctly unless it comes up initially with the DAC already set properly. As I said, managing two USBs and two driver configs is a mess sometimes.

[Paul R]

First of all, thanks to all who are trying to help me through this.

 

Paul: This is a tough one. I set up 2 zones: One to play DSD files and one to play my PCM as DSD. The former zone's volume control doesn't work --the setting's down to zero and I can't get the slider to move. I thought perhaps this is disabled when native DSD files are being played (does anyone know?). However the PCM to DSD zone does have an active volume control and there is no sound, even though Loki lights up to confirm a valid stream.

 

Whoo boy- this is a little tough. Two things to check then - ensure your system volume (on the PC or Mac) is set to Max Vol. There are are lot of tricky settings with volume control in JRMC. I usually set them to "disabled volume", ensure the system volume on the computer is at full, and go from there. You might try that if all else fails.

 

I had this happen to me a while back setting up three USB DACs to run on the same copy of JRMC. They will pretty much synchronize making A/B/C listening tests trivial. Had one zone that got into Internal Volume mode, changed the volume in the DAC (controlled by the system volume) and gave me fits for a while. This is the only case where I sometimes do not disable the volume, as it is easier to match the output volumes using JRMC than with manual settings on the Pre. And only when I am testing.

 

-Paul

[WVStarship]

Schiit is going to swap it out, although they still suspect a system issue. As I told them, I tried 2 amps, 3 USB cables, several USB ports and 2 interconnects. I tried it on my laptop which had no other audio device installed on it and I removed my main DAC from my desktop in case they were conflicting. Finally, I installed Foobar and set it up per Schiit's instructions. The results were exactly the same: Loki lights up to verify a valid stream but there is no sound. Bottom line is I still suspect it's defective hardware. I'll let you guys know what the results are. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

[k6davis]

It seems that it is defective.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing what you think when you get the new one. I think it sounds excellent even without factoring in the extremely low price.