Help! problems with my dac Topping

[threni]

Do you not already have an optical output on the motherboard of your PC? Many do.

Nope. It's sort of ironic because I've built all my own PCs - this is my fifth one since the 1990's - and I'm pretty sure this is the first one which doesn't have spdif. I've never used it. Doesn't even have pins on the motherboard to attach to an external card.

 

[mhardy6647]

I don't know if this comment will be helpful or just cathartic for me to share -- but I have a Topping D10 (not S), and another, rather pricier DAC, and both of them exhibit all sorts of noisy grunge when hooked to the USB of an old Dell laptop* (which is what I use to access music on my NAS) -- but only if the AC power adaptor "brick" is connected to the computer. If I unplug the AC adaptor and run off the laptop battery -- the background's dead quiet.

Let me try a simple question: turnkey (!) music player with parametric EQ?

At the risk of getting answers I won't understand :confused: :rolleyes: I'm still gonna take a stab at asking this here. I have an NAS with a bunch of music on it. I listen almost happily enough with the music player bundled with the NAS (Synology's "Audio Station" app running under the NAS's...

hifihaven.org

Offering this up just as something else to consider (perhaps?).

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* Actually, the same issue presented itself with two different, albeit both old, laptops.

 

[antcollinet]

I don't know if this comment will be helpful or just cathartic for me to share -- but I have a Topping D10 (not S), and another, rather pricier DAC, and both of them exhibit all sorts of noisy grunge when hooked to the USB of an old Dell laptop* (which is what I use to access music on my NAS) -- but only if the AC power adaptor "brick" is connected to the computer. If I unplug the AC adaptor and run off the laptop battery -- the background's dead quiet.

Let me try a simple question: turnkey (!) music player with parametric EQ?

At the risk of getting answers I won't understand :confused: :rolleyes: I'm still gonna take a stab at asking this here. I have an NAS with a bunch of music on it. I listen almost happily enough with the music player bundled with the NAS (Synology's "Audio Station" app running under the NAS's...

hifihaven.org

Offering this up just as something else to consider (perhaps?).

______________
* Actually, the same issue presented itself with two different, albeit both old, laptops.

As I’ve said upthread. That is a way of confirming the ground loop problem. When you run the laptop off battery, you break the connection to the mains ground and kill the ground loop.

 

[mhardy6647]

As I’ve said upthread. That is a way of confirming the ground loop problem. When you run the laptop off battery, you break the connection to the mains ground and kill the ground loop.

True enough -- but it's the nature of the noise that I don't get (not that this thread's about me ). I associate ground loops with hum (pure sinusoidal or 'buzzy' hum); this effect is almost like static; random and 'spike-y' sounding. Indeed, I thought it was from the vacuum tube amplifier I was using when I first noticed it -- but it was not.

I don't know what the OP's background noise sounds like.

 

[antcollinet]

True enough -- but it's the nature of the noise that I don't get (not that this thread's about me ). I associate ground loops with hum (pure sinusoidal or 'buzzy' hum); this effect is almost like static; random and 'spike-y' sounding. Indeed, I thought it was from the vacuum tube amplifier I was using when I first noticed it -- but it was not.

I don't know what the OP's background noise sounds like.

Most likely stray fields from the pc. Especially the graphics hardware that has strong components at vertical and horizontal scan frequencies. Sometimes you can hear the noise change when what is on the display changes.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Sometimes you can hear the noise change when what is on the display changes.

How can you tell without being OP? I might have missed that description of the noise.

 

[antcollinet]

How can you tell without being OP? I might have missed that description of the noise.

Meaning with ground loops in general. Not this specific case

 

[raindance]

As I’ve said upthread. That is a way of confirming the ground loop problem. When you run the laptop off battery, you break the connection to the mains ground and kill the ground loop.

He does refer to it as a PC so running it off battery may not be an option.

 

[antcollinet]

He does refer to it as a PC so running it off battery may not be an option.

You need to look at the post I am replying to