OP
- Thread Starter
- #41
BTW, you should have it set to 44.1 kHz anyway, not 48 unless you mainly watch BD/DVD movies. Try that and let me know if it improves.
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Review and Measurements of Yulong DA10 DAC & Amp
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
I do mainly watch BD films... Anyway, tried 44.1 khz and still nothing. I believe I may have a defective unit. Interesting that you experience it fail above 96 khz; I don't think any of my other DACs exhibit that. Aren't all the SPDIF inputs rated for up to 192 khz?
OP
- Thread Starter
- #43
I just tested optical direct from my motherboard and that works perfectly too. Toslink works up to 192 kHz. I used a random audio cable for S/PDIF so that may be the issue with higher sample rates.
But yes, if you have ruled out other factors, it must be the unit itself.
But yes, if you have ruled out other factors, it must be the unit itself.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #45
My pleasure. 
The manufacturer sent me new firmware which I have attached to this post. DA10 owners, feel free to try it out and share your experiences.
The new firmware fixes muting for many audio tracks, but causes several problems (at least for me). Before, the DirectSound test tone (with 24 bit selected) under Windows' speakers advanced tab would only play through the left channel and not right. Now, both channels are muted or remain silent when hitting "Test."
What's more, I am now experiencing numerous pops / clicks when I play short sound clips (less than 1 second length) even at 16 bit; this did not happen with the old firmware. I seem to be able to fix this by switching sample rates back and forth. However, with 24 bit, I get a lot of popping at any sample rate--especially at the beginning and end of audio tracks, and especially at 48 kHz. These issues are present when using a PC as source and connecting to the DAC via SPDIF. I tried coax, optical, and AES3.
The new firmware fixes muting for many audio tracks, but causes several problems (at least for me). Before, the DirectSound test tone (with 24 bit selected) under Windows' speakers advanced tab would only play through the left channel and not right. Now, both channels are muted or remain silent when hitting "Test."
What's more, I am now experiencing numerous pops / clicks when I play short sound clips (less than 1 second length) even at 16 bit; this did not happen with the old firmware. I seem to be able to fix this by switching sample rates back and forth. However, with 24 bit, I get a lot of popping at any sample rate--especially at the beginning and end of audio tracks, and especially at 48 kHz. These issues are present when using a PC as source and connecting to the DAC via SPDIF. I tried coax, optical, and AES3.
What's your firmware version before you updated your DA10? If you have v1.08 which comes from factory you have to update you DA10 with full edition firmware instead of updating only FPGA part. If you already have v1.10 (old version), you could only update FPGA part.
I've never had the Windows DirectSound testing problem in either v1.08(comes from factory) or v1.10(older version than you posted). Both channels could play the testing sound very well. You could try to set the default format as 16 bits, 44100Hz (CD quality) then click Test button. BTW, I am using USB mode with Thesycon customized driver v4.59.0.
If you play PCM tracks without sampling rate changing, you will never get the pops or clicks. That's perfect from my experience.
If you play PCM tracks with sampling rate changing you will get pops or clicks when the track changes from one to another but it’s very weak.
If you play DSD tracks you will get pops or clicks when the track changes from one to another but it’s very weak.
If you play both DSD and PCM tracks, you will get pops or clicks when the track changes from PCM to DSD or DSD to PCM, but it’s also very weak.
I would like to share the latest firmware (full edition). It's recommended for all of DA10 users to update your DA10. Please follow the readme.txt to update the firmware. Please note that the update tool does not support mac system.
The MD5 of firmware zip package is 6D0239DB9869B460457BBE055F357950
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As stated in my previous post, these problems occur when using a PC as source AND connecting to the DAC via coax, optical or AES3--not through USB. Unfortunately, USB is the only digital input that works as intended.
My DA10 is revision 1.10 and there are issues particular to both the old and new FPGA firmware...
The DirectSound test tone plays fine for any sample rate using 16 bit; it becomes problematic with a bit depth of 24. Again, this applies to SPDIF connections only.
I am also using a PC and connneting to DA10 with a USB cable. Everything is fine. My laptop have no coax, optical or AES interface.
I believe the manufacturer will continue fixing the bugs of firmware.
I really do hope Yulong eventually fixes the firmware, as this is a serious problem for PC users who want to utilize the SPDIF ports on their motherboards. It is also a problem for users who wish to use a single USB to SPDIF converter to interface with all of their DACs.
I began to use Yulong products from Canary, it has a low price tag but its sound rocked me, then I upgraded my gear to flagship DA9. I could notice the improvement than canary. Finally I upgraded my gear to DA10, the new flagship of the Yulong products.
My system is very simple, a Windows PC as a source, foobar2000 is on it. I am always using a USB cable to connect my PC to DA10, then a headphone connects to DA10 single end port or balance port. I am enjoying this simple system.
So far the USB connection is recommended if you are using a Windows PC or Apple computer. The manufacturer has known the problems you mentioned above. I think they already have a schedule to fix them. I don't think the manufacturer will ignore those problems from my experiences. The performance of flagship product is very important for a company.
I have got the latest firmware of DA10 and my DA10 is up to date. I have tested this firmware for several days but I don't notice there is any change on the sound. The main changes are based on the coax input mode.
1. Fix coax input, 24 bit, there is no sound when the output device is DirectSound;
2. Fix coax input, 24 bit, there is no sound when a track is shorter than 1 second.
Enjoy this new firmware.
1. Fix coax input, 24 bit, there is no sound when the output device is DirectSound;
2. Fix coax input, 24 bit, there is no sound when a track is shorter than 1 second.
Enjoy this new firmware.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #55
Good to see the company coming through. And saving me having to test for that bug.
I wish things were that simple. I've tested with revision 1.11, and the firmware fixes many instances of unsolicited muting--but it introduces loud popping.
In Windows 7 with the default system sound profile, navigating to a different directory within the file manager should produce a click about a second in length. If you have DirectSound set specifically to 24-bit 48 kHz, there will be an exceedingly loud pop instead of the usual click. There may be pops for other short audio clips under that DirectSound setting, but the folder navigation method is the easiest way to trigger it consistently.
In Windows 7 with the default system sound profile, navigating to a different directory within the file manager should produce a click about a second in length. If you have DirectSound set specifically to 24-bit 48 kHz, there will be an exceedingly loud pop instead of the usual click. There may be pops for other short audio clips under that DirectSound setting, but the folder navigation method is the easiest way to trigger it consistently.
After spending a considerable length of time narrowing down brief instances of muting, I have finally figured out the cause. Unsolicited muting can still be triggered if the DA10 is fed low frequency signals (particularly tracks that go 100 Hz and below) AND digital volume is also set low to 25% or less. The muting/popping gets progressively worse as sample rate increases, with 192 kHz behaving poorly to say the least.
In short, the DA10's SPDIF inputs are not handling signals with low frequency properly when digital volume is set to lower levels. I believe this is related to some kind of signal detection that becomes unreliable when lowering bit depth via digital volume control. I really hope these SPDIF problems get fixed at some point.
In short, the DA10's SPDIF inputs are not handling signals with low frequency properly when digital volume is set to lower levels. I believe this is related to some kind of signal detection that becomes unreliable when lowering bit depth via digital volume control. I really hope these SPDIF problems get fixed at some point.
I suppose DA9 is a discontinued product. DA10 is its successor.
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