What if your USB DAC does not have any drivers ?

[LegionOfHell]

Lets say you buy a USB DAC that does not have any drivers online. There is no manufacturer website and no other info are given.

Is there a way to find the driver manually through the following procedure:

- Connect the USB device.
- Go to device manager under windows.
- Go to Sound, video and game controllers.
- Right click on your device and choose properties.
- Go to the Details tab.
- Check Hardware Ids.

then search online and figure out which USB chip your USB DAC is using and then go to the chip manufacturer's website and download the appropriate driver ? is this possible ? is this possible with every DAC ?


Another question, My Atom DAC+ uses an Xmos USB chip and its firmware can be upgraded....Can the firmware on ALL USB DACs be upgraded ? or is it just for Xmos USB chips ?

 

[Berwhale]

Generally speaking, class compliant USB DACs do not need a driver in Windows. You need a driver if you want to use ASIO (rather than DirectSound or WASAPI) and sometimes a driver is required to expose all of the bit depth and sample rates supported by the DAC.

The process you outline above to find the hardware ID *could* tell you the manufacturer and model of DAC, but surely you will know this already if it's in front of you?

Also, many companies license the Thesycon driver... https://www.thesycon.de/eng/usb_audiodriver.shtml

My understanding is that the licensed version of the Theyscon driver is customized to only work with the licensees hardware ID. So you can't use a Topping driver on an SMSL DAC, even though they might share the same DAC chip.

 

[Jimbob54]

Update a fully functioning, no glitches DAC /driver firmware at your peril. The Internet is littered with stories of bricked devices.

If it doesn't play nicely with your source OS out of the box, that's a red flag right there.

 

[LegionOfHell]

The process you outline above to find the hardware ID *could* tell you the manufacturer and model of DAC, but surely you will know this already if it's in front of you?

So there is no way to figure out what USB chip the DAC is using ? without inspecting the PCB ?

 

[Ninjastar]

Maybe open up the DAC and see if you can read the USB receiver that it uses?

I purchased a used Denafrips Ares (original version, not the II) and Denafrips wiped all their info about this DAC from their website when it released version 2. I had to search an old review to find it uses the Amanero USB driver and downloaded the drivers from the Amanero website. I previously owned Ares II, which uses the Thesycon driver.

 

[Berwhale]

So there is no way to figure out what USB chip the DAC is using ? without inspecting the PCB ?

I haven't tried, but it may be possible with something like... https://freeusbanalyzer.com/

 

[DVDdoug]

Lets say you buy a USB DAC that does not have any drivers online. There is no manufacturer website and no other info are given.

Most will be class compliant which means they work with the drivers that come with Windows, OS-X, and Linux.

Can the firmware on ALL USB DACs be upgraded ? or is it just for Xmos USB chips ?

I assume some "soundcard chips" are hard-coded and not re-programmable.

The firmware on most "programmable stuff" is loaded using a separate connection on the board and a stand-alone programmer so it's not customer upgradable. Usually the USB port doesn't work until the firmware is loaded. (That means if it is field programmable, it creates the potential of "bricking" the thing if the firmware gets corrupted during upgrading.) Of course it depends on the particular chip and the circuit design. On computer motherboards, usually the original firmware isn't overwritten so there's a way to recover.

So there is no way to figure out what USB chip the DAC is using ? without inspecting the PCB ?

Probably not.

 

[computer-audiophile]

Which DAC are we discussing about? Is there a model designation and / or a picture?

 

[LegionOfHell]

here is a picture:

 

[computer-audiophile]

It should work out of the box if not defective, I think.
I found the following info for this device at amazon.

• This device amplifies source device audio via SPDIF or USB to HiFi headphones or line-level output. It connects the headphone amplifier to the input device (PC or USB equipped OTG phone). It has intelligent controls and ergonomic design for comfortable use
• Input interface: USB/Toslink, output interface: 3.5 mm line level socket, frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz, distortion: 0.001% at 1 kHz
• Headphone impedance: 16-600Ω, output impedance: 1Ω, output power: 262mW @ 32Ω
• Dynamic Range: 127dB, Support Systems: Windows 7 and above, Apple Mac OS/iOS, Android with OTG, Power Supply: DC 5V 0.25A via USB

EDIT: Manual added

https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/3820140.pdf