Hello, i’m using a Vivaldi stack with APEX DAC, Clock and Upsampler v2. Since yesterday i experience some problems playing songs, sound disappearing for 1 seconds and coming back. It is happening on all sources (Network or USB). I always convert the files to DSDx2 whatever the PCM format and DSD is in passthrough.
I will try to explain with more details below.
Whatever the source (USB or network), i can play without any issues 16 or 24b files based on 44.1kHz frequency (44.1/88.2/176.4). The clock parameter is set on W (automatic) and the icon for clock when playing these files is “W1”.
When i try to play sources, 16 or 24b, with frequencies of 48, 96 and 192kHz, the song is hashing meaning that the file is played but i lose sound for less than 1 second. In this case the icon clock visible on the upsampler is “M”.
On the DAC itself, the clock icon is “W1” whatever i play 44.1 (& multiples) or 48kHz (and multiples).
If i change the conversion from DSDx2 to DSD, it still happens but less frequent.
If i change the conversion to a PCM like 384kHz, there is no problem.
If i feed the upsampler with DSD 64 or 128 whatever the source (USB/Network), DSD in passthrough, there is no problem and the clock icon on the upsampler is showing “W1”.
It seems it is coming from the DSD conversion in the upsampler thzt suddenly is not working smmothly as it was.
Any clue on what is happening and how i could solve this tricky problem ?
Thanks for your support.
PS : i already tried a factory reset and nothing changed.
Hi Ludovic. Unfortunately this is ( to me) an unusual issue so I do not have a solution ready yo be tried. It may take some experimentation.
My first question is whether the two time groups ( 44.1 and multiples or 48.0 and multiples) are correctly set in the wordclock? Group 1 should be 44.1 and 2 should be 48. If so are the BNC cables for each correctly mated with the Upsampler and DAC ? If so I then advise simply reconnecting each of them to ensure that one ( probably from group 2 ) is not making a poor connection. When a title starts “flashing” ( I assume that you mean that he metadata is not consistently being shown in Mosaic or in the DAC’s front panel display), do you see a red warning “Bad Clock” icon in the DAC front panel display?
When you say all sources you are only referring to the input connection. What are the sources? Are we talking about streaming from a service and/or internet radio or is there a UPnP source for downloaded or ripped files? If so what UPnP server software are you using?
Hello @PAR for reading me and providing some recommendation.
You are right, when i mention « sources » i refer to input connections. in my case USb or network. Whatever the source and using local files in UPnP or streaming services like Qobuz, the problem appears. I’m using minimserver v2.2 and JPLAY iOS as remote.
I did not change anything in the connections concerning the group frequencies and i double checked the connections referring to Upsampler manual. Everything seems fine. I also changed the 2 cables between the Upsampler and the clock. Problem remains.
No bad clock (red icon) appearing on the DAC side. The DAC always show the « W automatic » icon.
That’s why the DAC always shows W1. DSD is based on a 44.1 KS/s frequency.
So that leaves the issue with playing 48.0 KS/s files ( i.e the source prior to upsampling). I do not know much about JPlay and were we talking only about difficulties playing UPnP files from NAS then I would be thinking about compatibility with MinimServer. But if it occurs with other sources such as Qobuz or internet radio it may not be this .However to track the issue down J Play adds a further complication. could you please revert to Mosaic and play an internet radio station without upsampling. You need to select Clone Mode in the Devices menu in Mosaic to do this. Or you can select the same 48 KS/s rate in and out in the Upsampler. Most internet radio stations work with a 24/48 format even if a codec is used. Just check that the station you pick is 24/48. I just checked France Musique and that seems to be 24/44.1. So, if you would be so kind as to bear with me, try BBC Radio 3 or 4 for a little while.
the idea as a temporary experiment is to isolate the issue and get rid of JPlay and upsampling.
i found the problem that was coming from me. In fact the second group of my Vivaldi Clock was set to 88.2K and not 48K. I should have press the “freq 2” button moving from 48K to 88.2K. In fact i made a factory reset and it bring me back to 44.1K for group 1 et 48K for group 2 and i discover reading the manual that the frequencies can be also set to upper frequencies which is knew to me and not sure to understand the purpose.
Any way thanks. a lot for your time to support me on this topic that demonstrate another time that the issue is coming from the operator
