At last... (Audiolab) - part III
- Thread starter MrScott
- Start date
- Status
Calvin&Hobbes
Active Member
Thought I asked a simple question that could/ would be answered with yes / no..
Sorry for my technical dumbness Dominik!
Nevertheless: I use the CDQ in connection with my integrated amp (I am not the only one) and my amp uses the same RC5 code.
> Can I use the CDQ remote to control volume? (And leave the integrated alone by blocking the IR window).
I ask this because I remember John (?) posted that the dB count is of no interest as long as the CDQ preamp is on digital. Thus should not necessarily be 0 or 3dB.
Anybody? Technobear?
lol
im glad that cheered you up a bit.
its a shame that you have had to go through this after waiting so long, I guess theres a lot of over the top expectation of these products, I guess not all models can be expected to be issue free, maybe its down to production running at full pitch, I guess it can be compared loosely to someone whos top of the charts, make the most of it whilst your the in product before something else comes along to take away your crown, the Audiolab products are the best they have made since TAG took over and at great prices, but as I say you can't unfortunately expect every one to work 100 per cent, take playstations and the like they have had issues over the years, it can happen to every company. But I bet out of say a 1000 players maybe less than 10 have issues but thats just a thought on my part not a statistic
Probably zero-help, however...
I had a CDQ on loan last weekend and had the RC5 code/volume command clash issue with my Caspian integrated....I tried what you're suggesting and it appeared to work, however my Caspian got very warm very quickly (Volume to max) so abandoned this approach pronto. Not sure if SQ was compromised or not.
Has anyone here tried a CDQ next to a Benchmark dac by any chance?
At the price it seems that may be the erm.... benchmark.....
SORRY... I know I should be shot for such crap wordplay
there was one of them for sale second hand on another site it went like hot cakes, they are great dacs, with twin headphone inputs but you cant plays cds on them , have to get another box for that so more expense.
think they are about a grand or just over.
I've had two bad units of cdq here in Finland. Not sure if i got the stamina for the third..
Wouldn't it be better if you first set the out put of a CDQ to 0dB (2.0V, industry standard) and then fix the highest volume level you are about to use from your Caspian. Then cover the caspian IR and use the cdq as it was attendet to be used.
Turning volume to max is likely to overload your main amp in Caspian, hence the quick heating.
Remara, FINLAND
Wouldn't it be better if you first set the out put of a CDQ to 0dB (2.0V, industry standard) and then fix the highest volume level you are about to use from your Caspian. Then cover the caspian IR and use the cdq as it was attendet to be used.
Turning volume to max is likely to overload your main amp in Caspian, hence the quick heating.
Remara, FINLAND
The new software & instructions on updating will probably trickle down in a couple weeks. Unfortunately you won't be able to carry out the update yourself. Currently only one out of the three processors in this product can be updated via USB, so unless the changes only affect that particular chip, it has to be updated at the dealer using IAG programmer.
New software release for 8200CD adds "Remote Adjustable" output level as an option along the 0dB and +3dB listed in the manual (I believe it's there). Also includes the new digital filter options debuted on CDQ. Same story as with new CDQ software, available in ~2 weeks at dealers, you have to handle the arrangements & logistics.
Just received my active Adam Audio Compacts today. All excited I stripped the old hifi and boxed it up. Boxed the old speakers, cleaned and polished the stand, blah blah....set up the new speakers and CDQ and off we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Except we didn't go anywhere. The CDQ has been losing the left channel if I switch between analogue and digital preamps for a few days..Today it has locked up alltogether..BASTARD.. it switches on but nothing else happens either by remote control or the fascia buttons. Can't even get my cd out
Needless to say - extremely sorry to hear about your problems!
Can you please tell me a little more details about what exactly is going on? Did the left channel go on analogue or digital (or both)? In any case this would most likely be unrelated to the latter issue. When you say it switches on, does it mean the display lights up saying Audiolab 8200CDQ, then changes to the last input? Do you hear a relay click when the init screen disappears? Is the level and everything the same as you've left it last time while it was working? The only way I can imagine there would be no response is if a button was jammed on the front panel. Try switching the unit on while holding down track next & track back - the init display should say "Factory Defaults" on the second line.
Again, sorry for your troubles!
y e s
Will the Caspian go hot when on max volume and other input selected / no input / CDQ in digital pre / CDQ in analogue pre? There is something very wrong - it should not get any hotter than when using the volume knob. Probably instability.
jackbarron
Chelsea, London
I've had two bad units of cdq here in Finland. Not sure if i got the stamina for the third..
Wouldn't it be better if you first set the out put of a CDQ to 0dB (2.0V, industry standard) and then fix the highest volume level you are about to use from your Caspian. Then cover the caspian IR and use the cdq as it was attendet to be used.
Turning volume to max is likely to overload your main amp in Caspian, hence the quick heating.
Remara, FINLAND
I think you are probably right Remara.
When John demoed the CDQ for me, I told him that I have got an EAR V20 integrated amp.
He suggested setting the CDQ digital pre to 0db. Then I should set the highest volume level I want on the EAR amp.
I would then use the 8200CDQ remote for volume and everything else.
This cheered me right up, because the EAR V20 doesn't have a direct remote control facility.
Jack
Hi Domonik and thanks for taking the time to answer my rant.
When switching between analogue and digital preamps, the left channel went off. sometimes on analogue, sometimes digital. Not both at the same time.
The unit powers up and says Audiolabcdq, then goes to normal screen as if ready to pay a cd, but the level is minus 80 when i last left it at -6?
I'll try the factory defaults test at home, but if not Lintone say they have another CDQ for me.
Fingers crossed this one's ok
O
Hi Domonik and thanks for taking the time to answer my rant.
When switching between analogue and digital preamps, the left channel went off. sometimes on analogue, sometimes digital. Not both at the same time.
The unit powers up and says Audiolabcdq, then goes to normal screen as if ready to pay a cd, but the level is minus 80 when i last left it at -6?
I'll try the factory defaults test at home, but if not Lintone say they have another CDQ for me.
Fingers crossed this one's ok
Once again thank you for your help.
Regards, Arthur.
Gents
I have enjoyed reading the thread - wow a long one. My interest was piqued as I have a Meridian 506 CDP running through another brand DAC/headamp which uses the ESS Sabre 9018 chip. But my Meridian has started skipping and I fear it is probably better to buy a new player than try to have it repaired.
So the 8200CDQ could be the answer.
So going forward I would be very interested to hear comparisons with other DACs using the 9018 chip (and there are quite a few now e.g. the Wyred 4 sound DAC1 or DAC2, Eastern Electric, etc) or other high end recent DAC's.
many thanks in anticipation
Vincent
I have enjoyed reading the thread - wow a long one. My interest was piqued as I have a Meridian 506 CDP running through another brand DAC/headamp which uses the ESS Sabre 9018 chip. But my Meridian has started skipping and I fear it is probably better to buy a new player than try to have it repaired.
So the 8200CDQ could be the answer.
So going forward I would be very interested to hear comparisons with other DACs using the 9018 chip (and there are quite a few now e.g. the Wyred 4 sound DAC1 or DAC2, Eastern Electric, etc) or other high end recent DAC's.
many thanks in anticipation
Vincent
That left channel problem is very interesting. Had it failed on either digital or analogue preamps, we could blame relay or it's driving circuit. As it plagued both of them, we'll need to investigate the unit - please tell Lintone it's important that the unit finds it's way to the IAG's Service Centre.
Regarding the second issue - I think the unit has jammed volume down front panel button - try pressing it hard, twisting, doing things to it - it may unstuck itself. It's not necessarily the part of the button you can feel - the problem might be inside the switch component. Remara seem to have experienced similar issue with the volume up button. We will look into this..
Dominik
Sorry, yes, I did try this also....setting the Caspian to a level whereby I didn't think I would want it any louder. This seemed better in terms of less heat from the Caspian.
Thing is I just want to "know" I have the remote ability to go as loud as I want. Also I guess I'm just not happy with blocking sensors and messing about with a "concocted" remedy when forking out nearly £1k for the CDQ.
Bloody good question, sadly I didn't think to try any of this and the unit was only on loan and has gone back.
To be honest, I was pretty disheartened by the remote-clash. As I stated above, for this kind of money I want it to just work out of the box without having to reach for the electrical tape to cover sensors and so on.
Also, from early posts by JW, it was suggested that for integrateds to be used with the CDQ the digital pre-amp should be selected and set to 0db in order for it to be effectively zeroed-out (Not in signal path). This was what I thought needed to be done to achieve a good result.. So again, I kind of dismissed other options and waved the white flag.
Cheers
Darren
Hi John, I don't know if you've made it home yet, but I hope your journey was a safe and stress-free one (I'll stop short of saying pleasant - I guess that's very unlikely!).
First of all, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and generosity in coming round to take a look at my system, especially considering the amount of travelling involved. Incredible that not only did you look into the CDQ issue, but you also took time out and fixed my amp! Please thank Renata for her help and also her patience in what must have been a very long and tiring day for both of you. Also please pass on my grattitude to the engineers who serviced the X7.
To update you, your modified cable has so far been a great success. It has reduced the hiss to a level where it is now 100% inaudible from anywhere near my listening position. As far as I'm concerned, the problem has gone!
Of course, the modifications on the X7 are still burning in, and the cable I provided for the mod is not the one I am used to hearing, so it difficult at the moment to say if there have been any negative effects, but the hiss is definately not there.
Rather than continue using the modified cable, I am thinking of making a couple of in-line attenuators (i.e. just having the resistors soldered between a phono plug & socket) so that I can go back to using my old cables, which would make for a much easier comparison. Does this sound like a reasonable thing to do? If so, could you let me know the values of resistors I should use.
Once again, I really appreciate everything you have done.
- Tim
First of all, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and generosity in coming round to take a look at my system, especially considering the amount of travelling involved. Incredible that not only did you look into the CDQ issue, but you also took time out and fixed my amp! Please thank Renata for her help and also her patience in what must have been a very long and tiring day for both of you. Also please pass on my grattitude to the engineers who serviced the X7.
To update you, your modified cable has so far been a great success. It has reduced the hiss to a level where it is now 100% inaudible from anywhere near my listening position. As far as I'm concerned, the problem has gone!
Of course, the modifications on the X7 are still burning in, and the cable I provided for the mod is not the one I am used to hearing, so it difficult at the moment to say if there have been any negative effects, but the hiss is definately not there.
Rather than continue using the modified cable, I am thinking of making a couple of in-line attenuators (i.e. just having the resistors soldered between a phono plug & socket) so that I can go back to using my old cables, which would make for a much easier comparison. Does this sound like a reasonable thing to do? If so, could you let me know the values of resistors I should use.
Once again, I really appreciate everything you have done.
- Tim
markomarko
Member
Timr,
So the designer of your newly purchased cd came to your house and fixed your... Amp?! Wait, what? Well done, is all I can say!
So the designer of your newly purchased cd came to your house and fixed your... Amp?! Wait, what? Well done, is all I can say!
- Status