Mark Dirac
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- Apr 6, 2018
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I derailed a different thread (here: S.M.S.L SU-9 ) by kicking off a discussion about the compatibility of DACs with Linux, and thought it appropriate to respond in a new thread.
I guess the main point is that some DACs seem not to be compatible with various versions of Linux, under various circumstances. Many users are driving their DACs from Linux nowadays, either knowingly (eg. RPi) or unknowingly (eg. "Stream Box S2 Ultra" by Pro-Ject and even some swanky expensive streamers). Which means that it becomes something of a lottery when buying a new DAC. Reviewers never seem to review the Linux compatibility of DACs' USB interfaces which they review. Indeed, given the variability of the issue, it would be difficult for them to do so. I get the impression there are several distinct causes of the incompatibility, some of which get patched, and some of which do not.
Anyway, @SJ777 and @somebodyelse kindly asked for more details, which are:
With my new RPi-based "USBridge Sig" by Allo (RPi 3B+ 1GB RAM) I am hearing clicks in the music. Clicks are more frequent (every minute or so) at 192kHz, less so (every few minutes at 96kHz), and rare at 48kHz.
OS is moOde v. 6.4.0 2019-11-24; Linux kernel is 4.19.83-v7+ , DACs are "Pre Box S2 Digital" by Pro-ject and "MDAC" by Audiolab. Broadband is 70Mbps, connected by ethernet, playing from Qobuz and USB flash drive. I have tried the various moOde config options - no joy.
Allo have provided a workaround to the issue. The workaround is to revert to an old version of moOde, namely 5.3.1 2019-06-12 with Linux kernel 4.14.92-v7+ from June 2019.
I have asked in a thread about Pro-Ject's "Pre Box S2 Digital" and no one reports problems with Linux. Which just goes to show, I guess, the variability of the issue. Allo report that there are particular problems with Topping D90.
I guess the main point is that some DACs seem not to be compatible with various versions of Linux, under various circumstances. Many users are driving their DACs from Linux nowadays, either knowingly (eg. RPi) or unknowingly (eg. "Stream Box S2 Ultra" by Pro-Ject and even some swanky expensive streamers). Which means that it becomes something of a lottery when buying a new DAC. Reviewers never seem to review the Linux compatibility of DACs' USB interfaces which they review. Indeed, given the variability of the issue, it would be difficult for them to do so. I get the impression there are several distinct causes of the incompatibility, some of which get patched, and some of which do not.
Anyway, @SJ777 and @somebodyelse kindly asked for more details, which are:
With my new RPi-based "USBridge Sig" by Allo (RPi 3B+ 1GB RAM) I am hearing clicks in the music. Clicks are more frequent (every minute or so) at 192kHz, less so (every few minutes at 96kHz), and rare at 48kHz.
OS is moOde v. 6.4.0 2019-11-24; Linux kernel is 4.19.83-v7+ , DACs are "Pre Box S2 Digital" by Pro-ject and "MDAC" by Audiolab. Broadband is 70Mbps, connected by ethernet, playing from Qobuz and USB flash drive. I have tried the various moOde config options - no joy.
Allo have provided a workaround to the issue. The workaround is to revert to an old version of moOde, namely 5.3.1 2019-06-12 with Linux kernel 4.14.92-v7+ from June 2019.
I have asked in a thread about Pro-Ject's "Pre Box S2 Digital" and no one reports problems with Linux. Which just goes to show, I guess, the variability of the issue. Allo report that there are particular problems with Topping D90.
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