• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Auto-mute on DACs - please make it stop!

Undefinition

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2022
Messages
10
Likes
21
Location
Chicagoland
I'm not sure if "auto-mute" is the correct term for it. But you know like how a lot of Bluetooth devices will gate to silence if there is no sound, and then when the sound starts back up, there's a delay of a second or so? It's infuriating, but I assume there must be some sort of reason for it. Like, the DAC doesn't know how to interpolate no signal? To mask noise? I'm just spitballing here; if anyone knows I'm curious.

Anyway, I recently took ownership of a (new to me) NAD T757. For the most part I like a lot of things about it. But my feelings about it turned sour very quickly when trying sources through the HDMI and Optical inputs. Basically, it does that same "auto-mute" I was talking about. At first I thought maybe I had hooked something up wrong, or there was something wrong with the source. But no, anything sending a digital signal to the receiver had the same annoying 1/2-second hesitation at the beginning of songs--especially prevalent when switching tracks, but it even was showing up in tracks that just had a bit of silence between them. Sure you could argue "what's a half-second between friends?" But that first attack is what MAKES a lot of songs (ie: you might have heard of a somewhat obscure Beatles song called "A Hard Day's Night") I mean sure, once the song is running you don't think about it anymore, but it's kind of like every meal you eat at a restaurant already has a bite out of it.

Pardon my french, but WTAF is this? This is a $1500+ receiver, not a cheapo Bluetooth box you bring to the beach. I looked back at some reviews of the receiver when it came out and the reviewers did notice this exact phenomenon, but basically shrugged it off. Then I dug deeper and found similar complains on DACs on McIntosh recievers--devices that cost several times more than a NAD. Like how are people not going to the manufacturers with pitchforks? Some guys on message boards were like, "the mute/delay went away when I used an outboard DAC." Like, do you hear yourself!?!? You just spent thousands of dollars on this receiver; it ought to be able to play a bit of silence if that's what's in the recording. Why even include Coax/Optical/HDMI inputs of we have to use an outboard DAC?!? I have 20 year-old receivers that can handle the silence just fine without auto-muting!
 

gaburko

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
37
Likes
73
To be honest I am not sure I understand the problem, but have you checked your sleep mode settings? Here on page 12 they give more details how to check the current setting and adjust them.
 
Top Bottom