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At last... (Audiolab) - part II

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Norrie,
I can understand your caution with the USB, but I doesn't look like Miki Vee was using USB at all and it may well have been a coincidence that the cable was connected to the CDQ - but nothing else - when my unit fused. Either way my laptop does not have USB3 ports.
Fingers crossed the problem is just with a couple of units, and enjoy your machine!
 
Hi John

Sorry to have to ask but is there any way to bring the display brightness up other than with the remote as pressing the display button down as per instructions is having no effect and the display is too dull to see?

Sounds as good as I was hoping for - very musical and natural. Thank you.

Norrie
 
John, my hiss is with an Audiolab amp... I'm sure you must have access to one of those - or is it the combination of amp+speakers causing the problem (sorry for my lack of tech)?
 
John,
Just seen your reply. Good to hear the numbers are looking better than earlier in the day, and thanks for your generous offer to swap the internals on my CDQ (it is black...)
It looks like my dealer has a replacement unit lined up for me, which I'll hopefully have time to pick up tomorrow morning and try out over the weekend.
Having enjoyed reading your posts on this forum it would be a pleasure to meet you in person, but if all goes well shouldn't have to put you to that trouble!
Thanks again, Duncan
 
Hi,
Picked up my CDQ today. Its not had much time yet and I wasn't expecting to have an instant smile, but I got one anyway... :D
So I think sound wise I will be happy.

However, I do seem to have a similar problem to others with hiss...

The CDQ is the starting point of building a new system to replace my old NAD / Epos M12 system. Running the CDQ at 0db using a NAD 352 as integrated is fine - only faint hiss with ear right up to tweeter. However, using the power in connection of the NAD to use the NAD as power amp results in very audible hiss. It is easily heard about 5m away.
Ok, so its only a NAD amp and using RCA connections but it does make me slightly concerned as my next upgrade was planned to be a decentish power amp followed by decent (perhaps more sensitive speakers).
I live near Bristol so thinking of going to the bristol show - it would be interesting if Audiolab have a CDQ attached to the 8200MBs there to see if there is hiss with this system though I guess with the background noise levels there it might be harder to tell...
 
Hi John

I turned out all the lights and could just make out the display - the remote is toggling it and at high it is no brighter. Seems I may have a problem as it was bright enough when I switched it on at first. Even with the lights out I can only just read it.

Norrie
 
John,

Along with commending you as others have for your and Dominik's input on this thread, I also congratulate you for having the balls to take ownership for the limited issues being seen.

I am certain that as designers you do not have control over the final spec, and it is refreshing to see your approach to those issues. Well done!

And you, and members' feedback, have me wanting to demo one of your units against my vintage Naim CDi!

Richard
 
Dowser said:
John,

Along with commending you as others have for your and Dominik's input on this thread, I also congratulate you for having the balls to take ownership for the limited issues being seen.

I am certain that as designers you do not have control over the final spec, and it is refreshing to see your approach to those issues. Well done!

And you, and members' feedback, have me wanting to demo one of your units against my vintage Naim CDi!

Richard
Click to expand...

Seconded!

Best wishes,
Peter
 
TimR,

We have CDQ's being used with X7's - and with no reported issues - so we are trying to understand what’s going on - if its the CDQ, Amplifiers - or some "Grounding" related issue etc. It would be very helpful to me to be able to hear a system with the issue - and to be able to try a few solutions.

PhilM,

Yes, we will have a full Audiolab system at Bristol with MB's so you can take a listen :)

You can always use the Analogue Pre - and this will be far higher SQ then the NAD's pre section - and then maybe use the Digital-Pre with a Balanced Power amp in the Future.

Norrie,

While the Plastic Tray and display are the weakest points of the CD/CDQ, there should be no need to turn the lights out what so ever - unless you’re living on a Football pitch. Sounds like you have a display issue - Where are you based? Ill arrange to visit you next week if you’re "local" in the UK if it’s convenient with you.

I have a theory (from a distance) as to the cause of the blown mains fuse's which I well be able to confirm next week - what ever the root cause, its not related to the USB port. So no need to worry about the USB.

Richard / Peter - thank you.

It seems like I will be meeting a few of you next week!
 
John, I PM'd you on this, but I'm going in to Bartletts tomorrow afternoon where we will be trying my existing player plus a replacement player through an X7 and another pair of amps (I don't recall the model). If all else fails, you are more than welcome to pay me a visit if it will help get to the bottom of this. What a gent!

Please let me know if there's anything at all I can try between now and then if it will save you a visit (I'd feel pretty bad if you came all this way to find out I had a stray cable somewhere). By the way, my X7 is probably 3-4 yrs old now, so I don't know if the design has been tweaked since then. I can get you a serial number if it will help.

While 'Im here...
For anyone interested, I've had success with 88k, 96k and 192k 2ch DVDA data playing directly from an Oppo BDP83 into the CDQ over coax. SACD does not output over coax unfortunately, which i believe is part of the sacd standard.

This was just a quick test, so no real comment on SQ yet. It isn't clock locked to the DAC of course, so no doubt lower quality than over Async USB, but a nice touch.
 
Well ive got some of my kit up for sale to help purchase a new cdq, I think it is probably best to get one in my home to dem before i fork out the hard earned tho, my speakers are 97.5dB so I am worried about the hiss issue and I really dont want to start including voltage dividers into my system. If you start saying the digital pre amp is only suitable for certain set ups and its a fact the analogue doesnt sound so good then its a slippery sloap in my book. Love this thread......
 
Dawg,
Having had the player for a couple of days now, I'm realising that the digital v analogue preamp thing isn't as black and white as I first thought. I've found a few discs where the smoother sound of the analogue is my preferred option (e.g. electronic stuff which might have a harder edge to it). I now see it as a tuning tool, and I do give it a go whatever I'm listening to. The truth is, if I had never heard the digital option, I'd still be sitting here thinking what a fantastic machine this is.
 
John
No display is not reducing my enjoyment at present and thanks for the offer of coming to sort it. I would imagine it's just a faulty component and I can wait till the Bristol show where you may be holding a clinic. I'm in South Wales and it would give me an excuse to visit the show. If you want to come and investigate the problem to gain a better understanding for quality improvements just let me know.
 
JohnW said:
MI55ION,

As Technobear has already answered, the Hiss appears to be an issue in certain systems and is a limitation of the Digital Pre-amplifier Mode – however with the Balance connection you gain an extra 20dB or so (x10 lower noise). So via the Balanced connection, the Hiss is now most likely the background hiss of the Power Amps themselves.

I guess you don’t have an issue of using the Balance connection – this gives the best SQ results anyway?

If possible, maybe I could meet up with you next week, and I’d like to “Hear” the level of hiss myself, I will also bring a “known” unit with me for reference to compare (it’s the CES DQ in fact).

It looks like that we might have to start recommending to use Digital Pre-amplifier Mode “only” with Balanced Systems – off course there’s no reason why someone could not use with Single-ended systems successfully, It would just depend on there system. With our Lab System – its dead quite, you have to have your ears right-up cm’s away from the tweeters to hear any hiss.

I also have a possible idea I would like to try – but I need a “hissy” system to try on… So meeting up would be worth while…

In light of this “known issue” with this batch of units (blowing the mains fuse) – all units shipped from this batch will be covered with a Lifetime warranty related to blown Fuse issues – so no one needs to worry.

Also, once I get to the UK next week and diagnose the issue and I’ll keep everyone informed.
Click to expand...

John,

If you think it would help to conduct a little field testing and want the perfect system to demonstrate this then it would be my pleasure. I have no probs meeting up next week so long as you can make it between 29th jan and 5th feb. I'm close to london so it should be easy to reach me but of course if it means going out of your way I wouldn't want to impose. Either way you are more than welcome.

Now about the hiss, well I certainly don't wish to give the impression that it is a bigger issue than what it is and sidetrack from its many strengths, my primary goal was to attain a solid front end and as I mentioned in another forum I frequent, the CDQ is by far the best I have heard. My route concern isn't so much I can bypass the issue right now because I have means of a balanced system, it's just that at the rate I tend to chop and change kit, however unlikely, I could well be stuck in the future with an unbalanced system. Also of greater relevance, I know of some that are considering the CDQ to be used in an unbalanced system along with external preamps/integrated amplifiers. These people have been advised thus far that in order to bypass the internal preamp of the CDQ it should be set to digital/0db output. In light of the 'hiss', it may be prudent to reconsider that advise, at the least they would have to try at home first and if it's unsuitable they may well have to look at alternatives, like for example the CD until we have figured out the problem and found a reasonable solution.
 
TimR said:
Dawg,
Having had the player for a couple of days now, I'm realising that the digital v analogue preamp thing isn't as black and white as I first thought. I've found a few discs where the smoother sound of the analogue is my preferred option (e.g. electronic stuff which might have a harder edge to it). I now see it as a tuning tool, and I do give it a go whatever I'm listening to. The truth is, if I had never heard the digital option, I'd still be sitting here thinking what a fantastic machine this is.
Click to expand...


Cheers, the cdq is still on my list when I can sell enough components to get 1, I would just like to evaluate how much hiss there will be, the analogue pre sounds ideal for my girlfriends mp3 collection but I have a thing for detail and I hate hearing anything from my seat when there is no music playing!
 
John/Dominik, could you elaborate a little on the "bandwidth" options for the digital inputs? I'm a little confused about what affect this has and the circumstances under which I should consider trying different settings. Should I change it with higher bandwidth material for example (e.g. 192k vs 48k) ?
 
Dawg said:
Cheers, the cdq is still on my list when I can sell enough components to get 1, I would just like to evaluate how much hiss there will be, the analogue pre sounds ideal for my girlfriends mp3 collection but I have a thing for detail and I hate hearing anything from my seat when there is no music playing!
Click to expand...
The analogue pre is worthy of quite a bit more than mp3 imho.. go and have a listen :)
 
Using the digital pre with my M1 active speakers I can hear a very low hiss with my ear to the tweeter, but nothing from about 1.5 feet away.
Hope that helps,
Ben
 
I collected my CDQ on Tuesday & am very impressed with the results so far :)

It's replaced my Buffalo II dac (with Volumite digital volume control) so I thought I would be prepared for the type of sound it might offer. I was however very surprised at the levels of extra detail, resolution and control on offer. VERY nice, and I am very confident that it is at least as good as my old Cyrus DAC XP+. It certainly has a more natural treble on the Optimal Transient filter setting.

I experienced the 'hiss' problem using my Castle Severn II speakers (87dB/W/1m sensitivity) fed by either my Quad 909 or Beard P100 (valve) power amps - both have a 500mV sensitivity. This wasn't totally unexpected - The Buffalo suffered from this to a lesser extent, and I also had a similar problem some years ago using a Meridian 518 processor as a digital volume control feeding Dac->Power amp (the 518 interestingly had a range of different 'noise shaping' settings which changed the noise spectrum, some of which were less obtrusive than others...).

However, it was a simple fix with the Quad - I just replaced two resistors (R11 from 7R5 to 22R) to increase the sensitivity to 2V to match the CDQ output and the hiss is now inaudible from my listening position, with plenty of 'headroom' left on the volume control (-20 to -25dB for normal listening levels). I'll need to investigate what I need to change on the Beard, but a simple 10dB attenuator between the CDQ and power amp would have the same effect.

John - maybe as a longer-term upgrade you might consider adding an option to select 500-750mV or 2V unbalanced outputs to cater for different power amp sensitivities, although I recognise this may not be as simple as it sounds?

Fantastic product though, and full marks for your (and Dominik's) level of engagement with your customers :)

simon
 
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