Hello everyone, I am hoping that someone might be able to offer a fix to my issue. I have been enjoying fantastic sound with my new set-up, and then all of a sudden, something has happened to make the bass all distorted.
With anything acoustic it is not so bad, but any bass and there is lots of noise, and whereas before I could listen to my headphones for hours, now I can only stand a few minutes before I get a headache and have to remove them.
All of the connectors are fully secure, my headphones have been tested as working with another device, and the amp tubes are working. I suspect the issue is caused by the balance of volume between the DAC and headphone amp. I have done a reset on the DAC and also just discovered if I have the DAC set at full volume (6 dBr) and the headphone amp volume at zero, then slowly increase the volume on the amp, then the noise and distortion is really exacerbated.
If I turn the DAC volume down to -20 dBr it is a lot better, but I still don't think the SQ is optimal. I have heard that there is a mathematical equation to work out the correct volume settings, using the comparative power/specs of the two devices. (Incidentally, the Pathos gain dial is around 75%)
I would be so grateful if anyone can offer some help!
With anything acoustic it is not so bad, but any bass and there is lots of noise, and whereas before I could listen to my headphones for hours, now I can only stand a few minutes before I get a headache and have to remove them.
All of the connectors are fully secure, my headphones have been tested as working with another device, and the amp tubes are working. I suspect the issue is caused by the balance of volume between the DAC and headphone amp. I have done a reset on the DAC and also just discovered if I have the DAC set at full volume (6 dBr) and the headphone amp volume at zero, then slowly increase the volume on the amp, then the noise and distortion is really exacerbated.
If I turn the DAC volume down to -20 dBr it is a lot better, but I still don't think the SQ is optimal. I have heard that there is a mathematical equation to work out the correct volume settings, using the comparative power/specs of the two devices. (Incidentally, the Pathos gain dial is around 75%)
I would be so grateful if anyone can offer some help!