advertisement


MDAC first listen (part XX)

Status
Not open for further replies.
shaolin said:
Thank you John,

excellent support/reply as always ;)
Can't wait for my turn for upgrade...:) I just hope that my ears damaged by so many parties can still catch all those improvements.. Wish I was younger again, would protect them more... :)
Click to expand...

You don't need the ears of a bat (or small child) to perceive this kind of improvement.
 
Hi John,

Short question: on Coax 2 input my M-DAC shows “EQ” on the bottom of the display (next to “D3E”). What is the meaning of EQ and how can I turn it off?



Since the release of the additional firmware versions there have been great additional features added to the M-DAC. Will there be an update of the manual?
 
delange said:
Hi John,

Short question: on Coax 2 input my M-DAC shows “EQ” on the bottom of the display (next to “D3E”). What is the meaning of EQ and how can I turn it off?



Since the release of the additional firmware versions there have been great additional features added to the M-DAC. Will there be an update of the manual?
Click to expand...

delange,

With A0.10 software "EQ" indicates that the CD you are playing has been Pre-Equalised during the recording process; the MDAC is applying the correct De-emphasis to restore a flat frequency response.

Earlier version of MDAC software did not apply De-emphasis so the recording would have sounded much brighter…

Gosh, looking at the picture your poor MDAC - its had a nasty bash just above its screen :(

We don't have the original user Manual files to edit (these are the property of Audiolab) - nor do we sadly have the ability (or time) to create a new user guide... :(
 
JohnW said:
delange,
With A0.10 software "EQ" indicates that the CD you are playing has had Pre-Emphasis Equalisation added during the recording process; the MDAC is applying the correct De-emphasis to restore a flat frequency response.

Earlier version of MDAC software did not apply De-emphasis so the recording would have sounded much brighter…
Click to expand...
That is strange because the source is not a CD. I’m testing the Community Squeeze player. This is a community effort over at the Slimdevices forum to build a next gen Squeezebox. When I play the same music files with my SBT it does not say “EQ”.
It certainly did something to the sound; it does not sound as good as when the files are played through my SB. Can not exactly describe it but it is certainly missing some punch. Can I turn the EQ thing off?

JohnW said:
Gosh, looking at the picture your poor MDAC - its had a nasty bash just above its screen :(
Click to expand...

It is not a “bash”; it is only a small area where the black finish coating came off a little bit. I don’t know how it happened. My M-DAC does not move from its trusted spot.
 
No the EQ is being flagged by the SPDIF source to be set "ON" - the MDAC is being told by the source to apply EQ - its being a good DAC.

Lucky that the MDAC has atleast made you aware of the issue :)

You should raise the issue with the "community" so that they are made aware they are incorrectly setting the EQ bit on the SPDIF output.

From the picture you can see the Top edge of the MDAC has been bashed (it might be more visible in the picture then you see in real life)... :( I might have a replacement panel if you ever send your unit for update.
 
JohnW said:
No the EQ is being flagged by the SPDIF source to be set "ON" - the MDAC is being told by the source to apply EQ - its being a good DAC.

Lucky that the MDAC has atleast made you aware of the issue :)

You should raise the issue with the "community" so that they are made aware they are incorrectly setting the EQ bit on the SPDIF output.

From the picture you can see the Top edge of the MDAC has been bashed... :( I might have a replacement panel if you ever send your unit for update.
Click to expand...

Consider the "community" informed... What is the spdif output you are using and on what hardware - you must have some extra hardware there as the wandboard does not have coax output? Does it do the same with usb output [I would not expect this]

There is nothing in squeezelite which is the playback application to set the spdif overhead bits, I may need to add this - but I want to understand which interface you are using so I can look at the device driver to see what it is doing.
 
Adrian said:
Consider the "community" informed... What is the spdif output you are using and on what hardware - you must have some extra hardware there as the wandboard does not have coax output? Does it do the same with usb output [I would not expect this]

There is nothing in squeezelite which is the playback application to set the spdif overhead bits, I may need to add this - but I want to understand which interface you are using so I can look at the device driver to see what it is doing.
Click to expand...

Hi Adrian,
I posted it on the Slimdevices forum.
I made a small board to accommodate the Toslink and a coax output. The Toslink on the Wandboard is not wired correctly and that is corrected on the small board I made.
 
Adrian said:
Consider the "community" informed... What is the spdif output you are using and on what hardware - you must have some extra hardware there as the wandboard does not have coax output? Does it do the same with usb output [I would not expect this]

There is nothing in squeezelite which is the playback application to set the spdif overhead bits, I may need to add this - but I want to understand which interface you are using so I can look at the device driver to see what it is doing.
Click to expand...

Hi Adrian,

OPS, sorry I had no idea you where behind the "community" :) I should have guessed!

A10 software indicates EQ bit.

I'd be happy to upgrade your MDAC FOC for all your support :)

John
 
John,

Either would be fine. I think black although all my other components are starting to become silver... Tougher to color match however.

Also, how difficult should the volume knob be to turn? Mine has significant resistance but does turn with effort. Any ideas how to determine if it's in the "normal" range?

Thanks,

JohnW said:
OK, I'll talk with Audiolab and see if I can purchase new units directly from them.

Black or Silver?
Click to expand...
 
Hi
I have been following this thread for a looong time :)
I would like to be assigned to the mdac upgrade list please John.

Mikkel
 
Could some kind soul tell me if I need attenuators to run my NAP140 using my MDac as a pre? What cable would I need from MDac RCAs to Naim?
 
JohnW said:
No the EQ is being flagged by the SPDIF source to be set "ON" - the MDAC is being told by the source to apply EQ - its being a good DAC.

Lucky that the MDAC has atleast made you aware of the issue :)

You should raise the issue with the "community" so that they are made aware they are incorrectly setting the EQ bit on the SPDIF output.
Click to expand...

Issue found and corrected - the freescale spdif driver for the imx6 processor we are using enables the emphasis flag of the spdif at start up. As the application code doesn't touch emphasis it didn't overwrite this.
 
John, a while back you showed us some pictures of the cases of the MAMP and the MPAX. I’m interested in that power switch you used. I’m planning on building a nice housing for the Community Squeezebox that goes nicely with the M-DAC.
Where did you buy that switch from? I guess those MAMP and MPAX housings were custom build?
 
JohnW said:
Hi Adrian,

....

I'd be happy to upgrade your MDAC FOC for all your support :)

John
Click to expand...


Nice gesture John! I would like to second that sentiment for this man's contribution! (..of course I can't guarantee that the MDAC would work after my upgrade :rolleyes:)
 
Adrian said:
Issue found and corrected - the freescale spdif driver for the imx6 processor we are using enables the emphasis flag of the spdif at start up. As the application code doesn't touch emphasis it didn't overwrite this.
Click to expand...

Well done Adrian :)

I'm glad the MDAC with its EQ indicator has been of some use... having the EQ applied when not needed would sure upset the sound and cause some confusion as to why it sounded "not quite right"...

John
 
(from a bit different bucket)

John, could you please provide more specifics about the upcoming "MIMP" on

a) How exactly will MDAC and MIMP be connected (hardware level)? What kind of connector will be used (is it 2.5mm or 3.5mm, TRS or TS)? Is there any length limitation of the bus connection? Is there a problem with daisy-chaining two MIMPs via MDAC (the MDAC being in the middle, using both IN and OUT)?

b) Will a new MDAC firmware be needed for the MIMP to interact with MDAC?

I plan to have two MIMPs away from the MDAC (~10m cable) and I'm not sure whether ~10m of cable connecting the controlling bus of MDAC and MIMPs would work.

Still planning various furniture moves, that's why I ask in advance.

Thanks for any information.
 
Hello,

Brought home an M-dac yesterday. All is good using with old cd player as transport via coax, but problems with Windows 8 computer as source. I installed drivers as instructed in manual but I'm getting lots of static and a stuttering flushing buffer display on the M-dac. Tried my wife's Windows 7 computer and no problem. Driver seemed to install differently with Windows 7 with progress displayed on screen and restart required. Installing on the Windows 8 computer no restart asked for but the drivers appear installed. I'd like to uninstall the drivers and reinstall but the uninstall option is greyed out. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
My computer (Windows 7) isn't having it either, but my Vista laptop has no problem, both running Jriver 15. John W suggested it may be a USB3 problem. My laptop is USB2, but my main computer is all USB3 and I can't get it to work at all.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.


advertisement


Back
Top