My new Topping DX5 Lite dac starts with clicks and pops

[bbrrtt]

Hello,
Received and connected my Topping DX5 Lite DAC today. It sounds great!
I saw that there was a firmware update: V1.09, the current situation, to V1.10 (driver V4.82) which I executed. Everything worked fine but I discovered that there were all kinds of clicks and pops when starting the PC, Qobuz, Roon...
I don't think it did that when V1.09 was installed. Unfortunately I don't see that driver version on the Topping site. I would like to go back from V1.10 to V1.09.
I also saw on the Topping site that an even newer driver version is also available for this dac: the V5.62. But I don't dare install it now, afraid I'll make a mess.
Did anyone experienced the same and did you find a solution?
Thanks for reading and helping, Bert Dijkstra.

 

[staticV3]

Hi Bert!

Try following this guide and setting Streaming to Always On:

XMOS driver settings for no cutoff/delay

I was contemplating on creating a "tutorial" of sorts for all XMOS drivers on devices that have a cutoff -- latency between the start of a sound and the dac "reacting" and actually playing said sound... So here it is: XMOS drivers use a control panel not unlike this: Usually the "Options"...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Dunring]

I've got two of those with updated firmware and no issues using the latest driver, so I'd update that first. Also go to device manager in Windows and disable the power management tab for your USB ports and hubs.

 

[bbrrtt]

I've got two of those with updated firmware and no issues using the latest driver, so I'd update that first. Also go to device manager in Windows and disable the power management tab for your USB ports and hubs.

When I watched the Topping info panel I saw that I have driver version 5.57.0, so not 4.82. But still there is a newer driver. Is that the one you did install (5.62)?

Hi Bert!

Try following this guide and setting Streaming to Always On:

XMOS driver settings for no cutoff/delay

I was contemplating on creating a "tutorial" of sorts for all XMOS drivers on devices that have a cutoff -- latency between the start of a sound and the dac "reacting" and actually playing said sound... So here it is: XMOS drivers use a control panel not unlike this: Usually the "Options"...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks for the link. It looks rather scary to go that way cause ... and will end up in a mess. Still I have to try it. F.Y.I. This dac replaced my Topping D90SE so there is much data on my computer which is related to that dac and it's noy always clear to which dac it is related. So I've got to be very careful. Maybe I could remove all the data in Program Files> Topping and do a new installation of the new firmware first.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Thanks for the link. It looks rather scary to go that way cause ... and will end up in a mess

I did it. It's easy and took a few minutes. The benefit was worth it.

 

[bbrrtt]

Hello, and thanks everyone who did give me advice!
In the meantime, I have tried everything and have come to the conclusion that it is not my DAC that is causing the problems. It works without noise on my Windows laptop and my iBook. Apparently there is something in my PC that is causing problems with the USB connection. I also use an optical connection via Realtek and that doesn't cause any problems either. Furthermore, over time the problem has clearly diminished. There are still soft clicks when a program starts or stops, but these are not worrying. It is true that with my previous DAC the Loxjie D30 did not produce anything at all. My Topping D90SE is also completely silent. I accept the current situation with the soft clicks.

 

[bbrrtt]

Hi Bert!

Try following this guide and setting Streaming to Always On:

XMOS driver settings for no cutoff/delay

I was contemplating on creating a "tutorial" of sorts for all XMOS drivers on devices that have a cutoff -- latency between the start of a sound and the dac "reacting" and actually playing said sound... So here it is: XMOS drivers use a control panel not unlike this: Usually the "Options"...

www.audiosciencereview.com

For the Latency I could try this action if there is any delay on streaming video's, but till now I didn't notice.

 

[Berwhale]

Hello, and thanks everyone who did give me advice!
In the meantime, I have tried everything and have come to the conclusion that it is not my DAC that is causing the problems. It works without noise on my Windows laptop and my iBook. Apparently there is something in my PC that is causing problems with the USB connection. I also use an optical connection via Realtek and that doesn't cause any problems either. Furthermore, over time the problem has clearly diminished. There are still soft clicks when a program starts or stops, but these are not worrying. It is true that with my previous DAC the Loxjie D30 did not produce anything at all. My Topping D90SE is also completely silent. I accept the current situation with the soft clicks.

This sounds more like a ground loop issue. Are you hearing the pops and clicks though monitor speakers or headphones? If speakers, are they connected using the RCA (unbalanced) connectors on the DX5?

 

[bbrrtt]

This sounds more like a ground loop issue. Are you hearing the pops and clicks though monitor speakers or headphones? If speakers, are they connected using the RCA (unbalanced) connectors on the DX5?

This is my situation: Everything in this setup is ungrounded, PC, DAC and active monitors with XLR cables connected (there is no RCA-input on the monitors). The Topping D90SE (also XLR connected) is dead quiet and the DX5 does give nowadays soft clicks when changing programs. If I start Roon there are 4/5 clicks and after that it's dead quiet too. That's what it is and I accept this situation.