DAC without fade-in issue?

[Julson]

Hello, I recently bought the Fosi Audio DS2 and it has a very annoying fade-in/cut-out issue when is has been idle for something like 30 seconds. This is particularly annoying when I'm playing chess online and I don't even have the sound of my piece moving.

After doing a bit of research, I realize it can be difficult to tell which does it and which doesn't and if it has it, it seems very difficult to fix other than having a software in the background that produces constant noise.

However, are there any product that is certified not having this issue? I'm particularly looking for a dongle DAC below 100€. I need it plug & play and I don't need any particular feature like EQ. The Fosi DS2 was great in that sense.
Thanks!

 

[AndyBell]

Is it attached to a PC?

If so, it could be the PC’s power management is powering it down if it thinks it’s idle.

To fix that, open Device Manager, find it under USB devices, open its properties and see if Power Management is enabled. If it is - disable power management.

 

[Julson]

Is it attached to a PC?

If so, it could be the PC’s power management is powering it down if it thinks it’s idle.

To fix that, open Device Manager, find it under USB devices, open its properties and see if Power Management is enabled. If it is - disable power management.

I tried disabling power management for every USB devices in Device Manager but it didn't do anything unfortunately...

 

[RandomEar]

It may be possible to deactivate this (it's a power saving feature) in the XMOS driver. You need to install the right one and then look in the driver for the "Always on" setting. Could be visible directly, could require a config file tweak. I had a similar problem and didn't want to use the XMOS driver, so i switched to SoundKeeper. That works fine and simply streams zeros when there is no audio.

 

[staticV3]

It may be possible to deactivate this (it's a power saving feature) in the XMOS driver. You need to install the right one and then look in the driver for the "Always on" setting. Could be visible directly, could require a config file tweak. I had a similar problem and didn't want to use the XMOS driver, so i switched to SoundKeeper. That works fine and simply streams zeros when there is no audio.

The DS2 uses a Savitech bridge.

 

[Julson]

It may be possible to deactivate this (it's a power saving feature) in the XMOS driver. You need to install the right one and then look in the driver for the "Always on" setting. Could be visible directly, could require a config file tweak. I had a similar problem and didn't want to use the XMOS driver, so i switched to SoundKeeper. That works fine and simply streams zeros when there is no audio.

Thanks for the help. I don't think I want to mess with this kind of manipulation tho...
In parallel, I have contacted Fosi support team that told me they added a 100ms delay to avoid popping noises.

I think I will be sending the DS2 back and looking for an alternative that doesn't have this issue, but still struggling to find one...

 

[sound_judgment]

I think I will be sending the DS2 back and looking for an alternative that doesn't have this issue, but still struggling to find one...

Did you end up finding anything you like? I'm currently in this same search. I didn't even realize ramp-up was an issue at all until I tried the Hidizs SD2 which powers off basically the moment I pause any audio, so I miss the next second or two. I don't really want to deal with that or have to run programs in the background to spoof fake audio.

 

[vornez]

It is a hit and miss business with this dongle dac stuff. I too use a DS2 on my PC and the fade-in effect is quite unpleasant and sometimes it cuts off for no reason. I'd suggest to use a desktop dac with some XMOS chip. I've never had any trouble with my Topping D10s. If you're using Linux you're in luck because the DS2 works just fine with it.

 

[Redacted]

FWIW I have a Topping DX1 (now no longer sold). It's always on so long as it's plugged in on a USB port - either on my expander or direct to my laptop. I'm sure there is plenty of USB DAC choice....