Dac Stopped Working!

[DjCreative]

My dac (smsl sanskrit 10th) was working fine the other day when i turned off my computer. I changed my mind and turned my computer back on right away and my dac stopped working. no display, not detected. I tried different cords and usb ports. The only thing that gives me hope is that my phone makes a noise when i plug it into it. Do dacs just go bad?

 

[DVDdoug]

Do dacs just go bad?

Yes, and it's essentially random. So electronics are equally likely to fail in the 1st month or the 1000th or 500th month. So of course as time goes by, the odds add-up against you.

Sometimes there are manufacturing defects that show-up early. Where I work (non-audio electronics) we burn-in* at elevated temperature for 48 hours to weed-out the early failures.

And in the longer run, some types of capacitors age and their capacitance goes down, or they die. But most of the time there is enough tolerance in the design so that a normal-reasonable drop in capacitance doesn't affect the audio performance.





* Of course this completely different from "audiophile burn-in" where the sound magically gets better after the consumer burns-in at home. We expect the specs/performance to remain stable.

 

[DjCreative]

Yes, and it's essentially random. So electronics are equally likely to fail in the 1st month or the 1000th or 500th month. So of course as time goes by, the odds add-up against you.

Sometimes there are manufacturing defects that show-up early. Where I work (non-audio electronics) we burn-in* at elevated temperature for 48 hours to weed-out the early failures.

And in the longer run, some types of capacitors age and their capacitance goes down, or they die. But most of the time there is enough tolerance in the design so that a normal-reasonable drop in capacitance doesn't affect the audio performance.





* Of course this completely different from "audiophile burn-in" where the sound magically gets better after the consumer burns-in at home. We expect the specs/performance to remain stable.

BOO!

 

[fatoldgit]

Yes, and it's essentially random. So electronics are equally likely to fail in the 1st month or the 1000th or 500th month. So of course as time goes by, the odds add-up against you.

Well maybe I am lucky with my DAC's:

- Slimdevices Transporter *** from 2006 still working fine in my office after 19 years (as are my other two "knobless" ones from 2010 in other locations)
- Bryston BDA-1 from 2008 still working fine in my office after 17 years
- DEQX HDP-4 from 2013 still working fine in my main system after 12 years

Also:

- Four monoblock amps from 2007 still working fine after 18 years in my main system (although I do rotate two out at a time since I got an integrated in 2013)
- Four speakers from 2007 still working fine after 18 years in my main system.

Maybe the issue is in the focus of certain brands on product churn, low prices but not longevity?

Of course the aforementioned DAC's cost more than the OP's product. The Tranny was the cheapest ($US2000 in 2006) which in today's money is $US3,200

I always get an itch every now and then to upgrade SOMETHING but I ultimately temper that cause fundamentally nothing is wrong with what I have in terms of sound and no I don't have cloth ears (but of course being an older gent my HF rolls of at 13k).

Bottom line: buy cheap stuff don't expect it to last.

Other Bottom line: I don't think it helps companies that have spotty reliability records with their cheaper products as it taints consumer sentiment when a potential punter looks at that companies higher priced products: "If there $300 DAC has reported issues maybe there $3000 one will as well?"

Peter

*** quite simply the greatest ROI in the history of digital audio, bar none. Streams basically every internet service out there as well as local playback including DSD, control points from browsers, apps for Microsoft, apple, android etc etc. Still relevant after all these years. Which is unheard of for a computing device let alone one designed to include streaming.

 

[raif71]

Yes, and it's essentially random. So electronics are equally likely to fail in the 1st month or the 1000th or 500th month. So of course as time goes by, the odds add-up against you.

Sometimes there are manufacturing defects that show-up early. Where I work (non-audio electronics) we burn-in* at elevated temperature for 48 hours to weed-out the early failures.

And in the longer run, some types of capacitors age and their capacitance goes down, or they die. But most of the time there is enough tolerance in the design so that a normal-reasonable drop in capacitance doesn't affect the audio performance.





* Of course this completely different from "audiophile burn-in" where the sound magically gets better after the consumer burns-in at home. We expect the specs/performance to remain stable.

After usage, your device will fail in 1 month, 500th month or 1000th month

 

[fatoldgit]

View attachment 472634

After usage, your device will fail in 1 month, 500th month or 1000th month

hehe.

Looks like you have an issue with your caps....and I am sure it would be mission impossible to find replacements!!!

Peter

 

[JSmith]

smsl sanskrit 10th

Last ditch effort, but try a factory reset... unplug the power cable, then press and hold the power button on the unit while plugging the power cable back in. Continue to hold the power button until the DAC turns on and the display shows "- -".


JSmith

 

[mcdonalk]

Buy a DAC from a company who provides support.

 

[Mike123]

Sometimes there are manufacturing defects that show-up early

Unfortunately, I have not the most pleasant memories associated with the SMSL company. Despite the highest technical parameters during testing, the design level is quite low in some cases. Somewhere in the vastness of the ASR, I came across that the SMSL company is more of a seller than a designer/manufacturer and sells a lot of different things that are not their own. Therefore, Chinese equipment often fails not only because of poor-quality components, but also because of hasty design of hardware and hasty writing of software. In the SMSL DO100 thread, I described my problems, difficult repairs and changes in circuitry so that the repair would not be repeated. The SMSL A100 thread also contains my upgrades, although I was lucky and it did not break. For now .

 

[Purité Audio]

I believe electronics if they fail display as a ‘bathtub’ curve, ie, a lot at the beginning and a lot at the end of life.
Keith