Auralic Altair DAC/Streamer

[austinpop]

The intermittent tick/pop absolutely occurs at random, in random channels, when transitioning from 24/96 to any other bit/frequency. Again it is -very intermittent- but quite obvious when it occurs.

 

Has no one else experienced this issue??

 

The "ticking" issue at track changes is neither new, nor related to Auralic at all. I've been fighting it on DSD rips forever. Initially, it was thought it was a bug in the ripping software, and it probably is, in many ripping tools, and not just for DSD.

 

Here are the scenarios that can cause "ticks" at track changes:

1. change in sample rate - for example 24/96 to 16/44.1, but really any different rate
   
2. level difference between the end of one track, and beginning of next.
   
   • Remember, audio stored on a disc (CD, BD, SACD, DVD-A) is in a single file, and the player implements track changes based on a TOC (table of contents).
     
   • Ripping produces separate files per track. I think many ripping programs do not do a perfect job splitting, and leave tiny differences in level between the end of one track and beginning of the next
     

 

[*]On DSD (N/a in your case), the DAC may drop and reacquire DoP (DSD over PCM)

[*]Finally, this appears to be DAC dependent. Some DACs are incredibly sensitive, others completely resilient, and most are in between.

 

In this case, since the Altair is a DAC too, perhaps Auralic can do something in the DAC to be more resilient.

[austinpop]

For non-DSD files I have to disagree with you. The OP should not be getting ticks/pops between tracks. This is not normal. What you state above is all true except with gapless playback it is not relevant. To be honest, you shouldn't get ticks when sample rate changes between tracks. In my system, I only get ticks between tracks with DSD files, which is a known issue, with PCM files I get nothing but silence. As far as the Altair goes, I have not heard of this problem with any Auralic products before.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

 

I speak from direct experience with my chain, which is Aries Mini > Ayre Codex. I too thought the issue was with DSD only, but have since heard it on PCM too. Less often, but it does happen.

 

This topic comes up periodically on CA, if you search back. One thing I have noticed is that music I've bought from download sites like HDTracks, MusicDirect, eClassical, etc. seems to be completely tick-free. It could be that they are using professional tools, that do a better job at track boundaries.

 

Also, you may just be lucky not to hear it with your specific gear. It really does seem to be very dependent on the DAC.

[austinpop]

What you state above is all true except with gapless playback it is not relevant.

 

Gapless playback has nothing to do with it. If imprecise editing at the track boundary produces a difference in signal level (amplitude) between the end of track n and the beginning of track n+1, then even with gapless playback, it'll manifest as a tick.

[austinpop]

21 minutes ago, Curves said:

I am looking at the Altair because it is a streaming DAC that is a Roon Endpoint. I do not have any IOS devices. Does that rule out the Altair because the initial setup has to be done using IOS?

 

 

There may be hope. The next version of the firmware, 5.0 - assuming it's the same platform for the Altair as the Aries - introduces a web UI. It's currently available as a beta, but should go GA in the next few weeks.

 

However, you should check with Auralic to see if this UI covers the initial setup phase, and more generally, if they envision and plan to support the use case of "no iOS app." I would hope so.

 

Finally, at this point, controls seem to be scattered between the iOS app and the web UI. This will hopefully get straightened out too.