Took delivery of a unit of Aavik S-280 streamer with intention to stream my music files. The Aavik has only SPDIF & optical (toslink) outputs. Connected it to the upsampler via SPDIF BNC input but had dropouts and some of kind weird out of phase instances. Tried the RCA input on the DAC, same issue. Tried the Aavik in the office system (TEAC DAC), no issue. Tried the Aavik in the main room but replaced the Vivaldi with an AN DAC, no issue. So, the only logical conclusion is there is some kind of incompatibility between the Aavik & DCS. Any insights ? Is there any settings that I might have messed up on the DCS side ?
The irony is that I decided to try the network source in the upsampler but was prompted to update the firmware. Took a little bit of time to do the update and the streaming via ROON sounded quite nice. Made a comparison with CD playback - CD still edged out the network but not by much. A little more body / warmth / organic.
Hi Joe and welcome to the community. I hope we can help though as Roon is involved and as I am not a subscriber perhaps someone with knowledge in this area may assist you.
Whoever deals with this there is essential information needed. Being a dCS community forum we will be looking at your issue from that angle. So , is a dCS product involved in this? If so which one? You mention upsampling but using what? Are you referring to a dCS upsampler or to a dCS DAC with built in upsampling such as Rossini?
Re-readng your post are we referring to Vivaldi Upsampler? If so how is streaming using its native streamer ( with Mosaic)? Do you have a Vivaldi DAC?
Yes, I have owned a full stack of DCS Vivaldi since 2012 & did the Apex upgrade just a few months back. As mentioned, I tried the Aavik connected to the SPDIF BNC input of the upsampler & SPDIF RCA input of the DAC with the same result - drop outs and phasey / softening of audio. From my experiment, the network is working ok, the Aavik is working ok when paired with a different DAC in the same setup & also when the Aavik is hooked up to an entirely different system. So, the logical conclusion is there is some kind of incompatibility between the Aavik & DCS (via the SPDIF input. Aavik has only SPDIF BNC & toslink (I do not have any toslink cable so cannot check). The odd part is that both connections of the upsampler & DAC exhibited the exact issue.
Streaming via ROON to the network input of the upsampler is also ok. AES/EBU input fed by the transport also ok. The only thing left to do is to try a different streamer or cd transport via the SPDIF input of the upsampler & DAC to check.
I have to say that the Aavik is unfamiliar to me but I have spent some time reading their website. My only thought at the moment is that both S/Pdif inputs you tried produce similar issues. My idea therefore is that this may be a synchronisation issue which is why I asked if you have a Vivaldi DAC as that is where synch is set. With S/Pdif the timing reference is part of the signal and has to be recognised by the DAC. Therefore Vivaldi DAC should be synchronised using the Audio setting ( the icon is a cog with letter A) with these inputs. Is this currently the case?
Thanks for the prompt response. I will have to check.
On another note, while trying to check the SPDIF input with another transport (Project CDT), I noticed that the DAC also has a BNC input for SPDIF (SPDIF 3) (did not notice this earlier due to old man syndrome ). On a whim, I tried the Aavik with that input direct to DAC & lo & behold, no more issue. Unfortunately, the BNC SPDIF input on the upsampler still exhibited the same issue.
So currently, at the very least, the Aavik is streaming via the Vivaldi DAC but I do not gain the benefit of the upsampler.
I will go back after work to check on the timing sync suggestion.
(I am located in Malaysia so there is a 7 hours difference to GMT)
In any case, as Pete suggests, it’s a good idea to set your Vivaldi Upsampler’s Clock sync to “Audio”. By the way Joe, you’ll also need to connect the Upsampler’s Word-Clock OUT to the DAC’s Word Clock IN 3 and set the DAC’s Clock Sync to that - see page 27 in the Vivaldi DAC’s Manual.
). On a whim, I tried the Aavik with that input direct to DAC & lo & behold, no more issue. Unfortunately, the BNC SPDIF input on the upsampler still exhibited the same issue.