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New to world of DACs - Need help please!

J

Jon Perry

Active Member
So I'm trying to improve the sound of streaming audio from my smart phone or laptop to my hifi system.
To this end I've just bought a Topping E30 DAC which according to reviews, seem to be reasonable value for money. I have the E30 connected by USB to phone or laptop, and phono plugs from E30 to amp. I've set the E30 to DAC mode.
The problem I have is that the DAC cuts in and out. It seems to happen when I turn the volume on the amp up. This happens regardless of source - I've signed up to trials with Tidal, Amazon HD and Qobuz. It even happens with files I've downloaded onto my device, so it has nothing to do with buffering. I've spent most of Sunday trying to fathom this out, and I'm on the verge of sending the DAC back in case it's faulty. But before I do that, does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.
 
Tried different phono and USB cables? If it does it with both Phone and Laptop can’t see it being a driver/software issue.

Try flipping from DAC to Pre to DAC back and forth a couple times

Reset
In the USB input state, press the mute button on remote control first, then press the standby button. After that, the screen will light up, you can restore the factory settings.​
 
Some more/better detail would be useful.

Phone - iPhone, Android?

Laptop?

Software being used for playback?

Have you downloaded and are using the correct USB drivers?
 
Fair points. Sorry I should have provided more detail. Anyway, having tried the initial suggestions I checked the amp was working OK with other sources. When I tried the CD player the same thing happened. So it looks as if it is a problem with my amp and not the DAC. Strange as it was working fine until I added the DAC into the mix. So, can anyone suggest why the amp would cut out at about half volume, or should I create a new thread with that question?

For the record, my phone is Samsung galaxy s7, laptop is Dell xps 9550, software on phone is USB player Pro, laptop software is tidal desktop player.
 
Ok. So it turned out there was one strand of speaker wire that was shorting at a certain volume. I must have inadvertently dislodged it when setting up the DAC. I'm very pleased with the sound through the DAC apart from a slight hum. I'm using a powerpack to power the DAC. I've seen this recommended, but perhaps there's a better option that would eliminate the hum?
 
I have the same dac, works great and no hum with a standard USB mains adapter. Are you sure the hum is not coming from the interconnects?
 
I have two E30s. I bought the first for use with my PC and second for use with my TV which is almost certainly overkill. I've had no issues at all with either. Did you manage to resolve the problem?
 
Daneel said:
I have two E30s. I bought the first for use with my PC and second for use with my TV which is almost certainly overkill. I've had no issues at all with either. Did you manage to resolve the problem?
Click to expand...
I did thanks. As Lliure said, it was loose interconnects. Really pleased with it now. Just need to decide which streaming service to go for!
 
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