Jump to content
IGNORED

Audirvana Plus 3.5


Recommended Posts

Can someone explain how the Sort Criteria (in Preferences) work?  I can change the settings in the Criteria popup menus.  But I can't change the Order popup menus.  They will not change from "Ascending".  Also, changes to the sort criteria popup menus are not always reflected in the Library view.  Is the sort feature not yet completed in version 3.5.7?

 

Or are the settings in the Preferences area over-ridden by the configurations of the column headers in the library view?

 

I am currently running Audirvana on a 5K iMac Retina (late 2014) in OS X 10.12.6 (Sierra).

 

General comment: I really love the sound quality I am getting from Audirvana.  But I am still puzzled by several aspects of the user interface.  This product really needs a good up-to-date user manual.

Link to comment
12 hours ago, damien78 said:

Thanks for this report.

This is just a display issue in the settings page. The sort criteria is indeed changed to the value you set.

This is fixed for the 3.5.9 I'll release after coming back from the Munich HighEnd.

 

This is not what I see.

 

I am using 3.5.8.  When I try to change the sort criteria from Ascending to Descending, the popup menu does not update.  But, in addition, there is no change to the visible sort order in the Library list view.

 

I am also unclear on how the sort order set in Preferences will interact with the sort order that the user sets in the list view column headers.  Which is supposed to have priority?  The sorting via Preferences is currently not working, so I have no idea how these two sort mechanisms should interact.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
8 hours ago, RunHomeSlow said:

The biggest bug for me is still present and it this a dangerous one for speaker tweeters and an  annoying one...

 

When any PCM song is playing and i click to change the song to any DSD one i have, a loud switching sound burst for a fraction if a second. This sound can damage for sure tweeters if i listen very loud. It does not do that with JRiver nor HQPlayer. It is repeatable always... there must be something Audirvana is not doing with that transition from PCM to DSD while playing ?

 

I play my song as regular as they are, no plugins, no upsampling... it just do that with Audirvana, it was happening also in 3.2.x version but i can’t remember when it switch doing that, was not happening in older version i think.

 

I am also experiencing this bug. My primary configuration uses Audirvana 3.5.12, running on a MacBook Pro (Retina 15", late 2013), with OS X 10.14.5.  The MacBook Pro connects to the USB DAC port of an Oppo UDP-205, with its analog stereo outputs directly driving a power amp and speakers. When I change from a PCM to a DSD song, the Oppo produces a large positive going pulse on the analog outputs, strong enough to trigger the speaker protection relay in my power amp.  Changing from a DSD to PCM song generates a negative going pulse of the same size.

 

Here's where it gets complicated. If I replace the MacBook Pro with an iMac running OS X 10.12.6 and the same version of Audirvana, same USB connection, everything else the same... then I don't get the killer pulses.

 

More information: I have run earlier versions of Audirvana on the MacBook Pro which did not produce the pulses.  In the past, this MacBook Pro has been configured with the "Direct Mode" hack and the El Capitan KEXT. For a while it ran great, with no killer pulses,  I think the pulses started when I updated to Audirvana 3.5.  After the last OS X update, I did not bother to run the hack again, so it is currently using the correct KEXT for 10.14.5, and still making the pulses.  The iMac, which does not pulse, has never had the hack done.  So here's a potentially important question: has anyone experienced the killer pulses on a Mac that has NOT had the "Direct Mode" hack?  Is it possible that this hack is a cause of the problem?

Link to comment
7 hours ago, CoolHand said:

To prevent glitches during sample rate changes (which occur irrespective of Mute During Sample Rate Change setting), do not activate Integer Mode.

 

This has no effect for my setup.  I still get big pulses (and loud pops) when changing between PCM and DSD songs, whether Integer Mode is active or not.  The only setting that eliminates the pulses, is selecting the option to convert DSD to PCM.

Link to comment

Here is a scope capture, showing the pulses on the analog outputs of my Oppo UDP-205 when it transitions from a PCM song to DSD song. The upper trace (left channel) is clipped only because it goes out of range of the scope display. The pulses are sending a 350mV transient to the input of a 200 watt/channel power amp, more than enough to trigger its speaker protection relay. On a DSD to PCM transition, the pulses are the same magnitude, but with opposite polarity.  Electronics geeks will recognize an RC decay, probably due to DC blocking capacitors on the Oppo's outputs.  It seems that the PCM to DSD transition is causing a stationary DC offset upstream of those capacitors, which is removed with the DSD to PCM transition.  Unlike RunHomeSlow's situation, my Oppo does not pass any music from the DSD song.  But music resumes when I play another PCM song.

 

Don't read too much into these scope traces. Other DACs are, no doubt, behaving differently.  The Oppo has internal relays which reconfigure the filter circuitry paths for DSD and PCM inputs. The pulses that I observe may be due to these relays taking an inappropriate state.  But there may be a flaw in the data stream from Audirvana which causes that error.

 

I'm only posting this image to show what happens with this particular setup, for which Audirvana 3.5.12 is useless for playing native DSD files (unless I use the "convert to PCM option").  As noted in my earlier post, this setup includes a MacBook Pro running Mojave, and it was previously modified with the "Direct Mode" hack. If I substitute an iMac running Sierra, which has never had the "Direct Mode" hack, the killer pulses do not occur.  I don't know if that implicates the hack (or previous use of the hack) as a possible cause.

 

If Damien is monitoring this thread, perhaps he can explain what is happening, or (even better) provide a fix.

 

 

pcm_to_dsd_pulses.jpg

Link to comment
On 6/17/2019 at 1:30 AM, damien78 said:

Thank you all for these reports on PCM to DSD noise. This is something that happens with only some DAC models. Fortunately I have one of those and I've been able to reproduce, and fix this issue.

The fix will then be in upcoming 3.5.13

 

When I installed 3.5.13, the problem with the pulses appeared to be gone.  But I regret to report that, after a few days, it returned.  It only happened once, thus far.  But it was the same behavior that I reported in an earlier post.  Loud pop when changing PCM to DSD.  No music from DSD, and then another pop when changing back to PCM.

 

This is with a Macbook Pro (Retina 15", Late 2013) running Mojave (10.14.5), Direct Mode enabled.  The computer feeds an Oppo UDP-205, via its USB DAC input.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...