Some Questions re Weiss DAC2

[Nyal Mellor]

Yes there are two pops when switching sample rates on my DAC2. I suspect that this is relay switching in the signal path? Nothing to worry about IMO. Really loudspeakers are pretty robust things.

 

Try playing pink noise through them at 90db; some of my clients actually think I'm going to blow up their speakers!

 

[bbq]

I use Macbook Pro + Amarra --> Minerva

 

It takes care of the sample rate switching problem swiftly with no pop sound. I think the Amarra mini will give you a very good ROI.

 

The 1st time I played the music after I installed it, all my freinds in the room heard the difference and gave it a thumb-up.

 

I have not tried to hook it up with my Vista machine as I could not find the right Frirewire cable. But, I did try to connect the Vista machine with J.River/Foobar --> QB9. I had the pop noise. I think I used the lantency sofware to check it out . I disabled a few devices while playing and it worked. But, then I felt that it was too much of a hassale and switched to the Mac system completely.

 

 

 

[rancew]

I am already using Amarra...

 

Nyal's explaination certainly seems right...there must be some sort of relay in the DAC2 that generates an electrical impulse when the sample rate is changed. Since there are two consecutive pops (which occur at the same time as the two "clicks" that clearly eminate from the DAC2 itself), I'm guessing the first occurs when a new sample rate is detected and the second when it "locks on" to the new sample rate.

 

In any event, it's not only a bit unpleasant but also extremely disappointing. One would think that if playing high-res files is one of the main features of a DAC it would be engineered to not behave in this manner when switching to and from high-res. Although I love the sound of the DAC2, I'm not sure I can live with this behavior for the long-term.

 

@Nyal: Is there nothing that can be done to remedy the problem? Does the new Weiss DAC202 behave this way also?

 

 

 

[Nyal Mellor]

The reason some may notice it more than others will be if they are running a preamp after the DAC2. I'm guessing the switching transient is always at around the same level so those who run a preamp afterwards with attenuation from the volume control will hardly hear it at all. I'm running my DAC2 straight into an active XO and only using the digital volume control on the unit together with the lowest voltage out setting on the variable potentiometer on the back of the unit (note this change was only introduced relatively recently).

 

Amarra doesn't make any difference.