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Help with OL DAC (significant channel imbalance)

drewma007

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Dec 3, 2021
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Hi all,

So I have basically bought a second hand OL DAC for a decent price from ebay since the DAC on my Element isn’t functioning (No right side audio output with the USB input but RCA input works fine so I’ve been using it as a headphone amp for my PC with an Apple USB-C dongle.)

However when I received the OL DAC this morning and test it out, I noted the the DAC has a massive audio imbalance, that the right side is only producing around 25-30% of the volume compare to the left side. Test with different cables, between optical and USB inputs, RCA output instead of using the 1/4” jack and turning up the volume on my amp, all producing the same result.

At the end, when I tried switching the RCA to connect wrong way round (connect left to right, and right to left), the imbalance seemed to have gotten slightly better but shifted to the other side instead, with left side having significantly lower volume even thou only slightly better than when connecting the RCA the right way round.

There was also quite a loud and sharp hissing noise when using the OL DAC, and I could hear some crackling when I use the volume control knob on the Element. Turning up the volume would only make the sound worse. (with both optimal and USB inputs)

Is it fair to say the problem is with the DAC, not the amp?
 
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