Last May I purchased an El DAC II+ from JDS Labs.
When it arrived I connected it to my PC using your supplied TOSLINK cable and connected it via the TRS outputs to my Adam Audio T10S sub which is then connected to Adam Audio T5V monitors. I also changed the settings in my Windows 10 pc to SPDIF-Out. The Motherboard in my pc is a Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 ATX LGA1151
Initially this worked fine, letting me pull up CD's ripped to FLAC files stored on my pc and play them. But eventually,while listening to a streaming audio track, the sound just cut out completely after about 12 minutes. There were popping noises as this happened. I then disconnected the optical cables and connected the USB cables. After changing the option in Windows, I noticed the El DAC II+ was off so I pressed it to power it on and switch it to blue for USB. While that initially worked, it does the same thing as the optical input, randomly cuts out along with the popping noises. At times it cuts out and then back in, other times it cuts out and the only way to get sound back is to power down and back up, at times more than one time.
I reached out to John at JDS and his service was outstanding, as others have mentioned. He sent another unit for me to try but unfortunately it is doing the same thing as the original, regardless of using USB or Optical inputs. John also suggested using the Optical, as it sounded to him like I was getting high frequency ground loop interference between the external speakers and the USB ground.
I should mention that I replaced both the USB and Optical cables that came with the unit, thinking that was the problem. I purchased a shorter optical cable in response to a continuous message of USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED popping up on my pc. This did not work, as the message continues to pop up.
I also purchased a Watt Box WB-600-SVCE-12 Power Conditioner thinking that could be the problem. This I did to try and isolate the EL DAC II+ from other electronics in my study (2 pc's, 2 monitors, Adam Audio T5V monitors and T10S sub) as well as to try and mitigate the random noise I heard from the pc through the DAC and speakers. This also has not worked.
The DAC sounds good when it works but the constant cutting in and out / on and off just is not working for me.
Has anyone had similar issues with this DAC or have any ideas what I could do solve the issue?
When it arrived I connected it to my PC using your supplied TOSLINK cable and connected it via the TRS outputs to my Adam Audio T10S sub which is then connected to Adam Audio T5V monitors. I also changed the settings in my Windows 10 pc to SPDIF-Out. The Motherboard in my pc is a Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 ATX LGA1151
Initially this worked fine, letting me pull up CD's ripped to FLAC files stored on my pc and play them. But eventually,while listening to a streaming audio track, the sound just cut out completely after about 12 minutes. There were popping noises as this happened. I then disconnected the optical cables and connected the USB cables. After changing the option in Windows, I noticed the El DAC II+ was off so I pressed it to power it on and switch it to blue for USB. While that initially worked, it does the same thing as the optical input, randomly cuts out along with the popping noises. At times it cuts out and then back in, other times it cuts out and the only way to get sound back is to power down and back up, at times more than one time.
I reached out to John at JDS and his service was outstanding, as others have mentioned. He sent another unit for me to try but unfortunately it is doing the same thing as the original, regardless of using USB or Optical inputs. John also suggested using the Optical, as it sounded to him like I was getting high frequency ground loop interference between the external speakers and the USB ground.
I should mention that I replaced both the USB and Optical cables that came with the unit, thinking that was the problem. I purchased a shorter optical cable in response to a continuous message of USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED popping up on my pc. This did not work, as the message continues to pop up.
I also purchased a Watt Box WB-600-SVCE-12 Power Conditioner thinking that could be the problem. This I did to try and isolate the EL DAC II+ from other electronics in my study (2 pc's, 2 monitors, Adam Audio T5V monitors and T10S sub) as well as to try and mitigate the random noise I heard from the pc through the DAC and speakers. This also has not worked.
The DAC sounds good when it works but the constant cutting in and out / on and off just is not working for me.
Has anyone had similar issues with this DAC or have any ideas what I could do solve the issue?
