I have the new lina system. Its quite amazing but I have noticed something I believe may be odd.
As the music tracks change to different bit rates and MQA to basic 16/44 etc. I am getting a clicking sound as it appears the filters change?
Mosaic, roon, etc, latest of all software etc. Seems like clock changes may be making the sound, just not sure? Music sounds great but is it still possible I have it set up wrong etc??
Hi Anthony,
Do you mean clicks coming through your headphones, or clicks from within the physical products themselves?
I hear the clicks just sitting next to the dac without the headphones even on? Would improperly setting up the link cable between the units cause that?
Nerdy noticeable, like a switch clicking
Hi Anthony,
That clicking noise is the relays inside the DAC, which work to fully mute the output of the DAC when there are changes to the DSP chain that would otherwise cause audible clicks or pops to come through the headphones. Things like sample rate changes in the content you are playing are a good example of this.
So basically, the click is when the DAC performs a ‘hard mute’ where a ‘soft mute’ (done in the software of the unit) is not enough to stop pops coming through the headphones.
Nothing to be worried about, that’s just the DAC operating as it is supposed to.
First thanks for the instant response……much appreciated as I was concerned. Just did not remember that with Bartok so it was unexpected.
The only other item is the power link. I used all the connections……but the manual diagram is a bit confusing. Looks as if it is one single connection dac to amp, second connection dac to clock. Without using all the RJ jacks? In the clock?
The Bartók is the same there, it uses the same system of relays for hard mutes when required. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have heard it on the Bartók, though admittedly I haven’t compared to see if the Bartók relays sound any quieter given the different casework 
Apologies for the confusion in the manual. The Power Link connections can either be daisy-chained or star wired from any of the units, it does not matter. Just think of it like a 12V trigger port that is both an input and an output - as long as each unit has a connection to another, then it should all work correctly. Hope that helps!
Thx, all is up and running. I have been researching sooooo many headphones. Technically one is the Susvara which is at 83 DB/ Can line drive this?
There are posts on this site about the Lina driving the Susvara.
I’ve had many headphones and my 2 favorites are 1266 TC for pop/rock/electronic and Susvara for everything else.
I have a Vivaldi Apex and every time there is a frequency change coming from the streamer, there is an accompanying pop in my headphones coinciding with the mechanical relay click inside the Vivaldi.
Drives me absolutely crazy! dCS claims it is normal. I completely disagree.
That is perfectly normal when the relays that are carrying out the changes work.
Although you will probably hear a small mechanical noise via the case when the relays operate there should be no noise from the audio output which you say you get. I think that the former may be what James referred to. BTW, James no longer works in the support team. So I am paging @Phil .
Are you are solely a headphone user? Have you another way of listening and , if so, can you hear this sound with, say, loudspeakers?
Hi Pete,
Thanks for flagging this up - I think this is a system that I’ve already been involved in.
I believe this is a unit that we have already had back to the US service centre for checking over and it has tested as absolutely fine.
We believe that the issue is caused by the combination of our output stages being DC coupled (we don’t pass the audio through a DC blocking capacitor and instead we use a DC servo circuit that actively manages the DC offset on the DAC output) and the rest of the system also being DC coupled end-to-end.
If the rest of the system is DC coupled all the way through to the outputs (speakers / headphones) then, as the muting relays operate, any DC offset (usually in the order of a few mV) will be amplified by the gain of the pre/power amps so there will be a click or pop as the muting relays open and close - as such the pop is ‘normal’ in that it’s a function of the system that it’s installed in.
Phil
Thanks Phil. Incidentally I tried to replicate Cjanis’ issue with my Vivaldi based system using headphones without success. Of course 'phones can behave like audio magnifying glasses which is why producers may use them when editing.However my setup of Icon Audio HP8/Sennheiser HD800S is tube and therefore not DC coupled. This supports your conclusion.
I am also concerned that headphones are not used very loudly which can exacerbate the subjective discomfort of such issues as well as risking one’s hearing.
Gentlemen,
The issue with popping/cracking transmitted through to the speakers has gotten louder. Although, previously only audible mostly on headphones, the loud cracks now come through the speakers every time there is a frequency change ie. MQA → DSD. I have tried upsampling everything to DSD but MQA does not upsample to DSD so as a result when I am listening to music, I have to deal with loud cracks coming through the speakers. The noise is so annoying that I have stopped listening to my dCS Vivaldi and bought a Ferrum Wanda GSE DAC so I can continue to enjoy music.
This issue makes me want to give up my dCS Vivaldi altogether and go elsewhere.
Absolutely unacceptable for a $60,000 DAC. Yes, I paid $60,000 Canadian dollars for this DAC and I am very disappointed!
Charles
Charles, when you first mentioned this back in June @Phil advised that he was aware of your issue and that it had already been sent to the service centre in the US and they had checked it and did not find any fault. Is this correct?
If so there may be some other issue unconnected with the Vivaldi itself. Originally your problem related to headphone use and all frequency changes when streaming . Now it is cited as being from speakers and restricted to MQA tracks changing to DSD. Is that correct?
As we have not been given any details of anything other than you have Vivaldi it is not possible to consider things much further especially given that Vivaldi has been found fault free. It also may not be the kind of issue that can be solved here anyway particularly as I am unaware of any other user experiencing this. So there is probably not a lot of related experience we can share with you. Further, as you may recall I tried to replicate your issue but with no success. All worked perfectly.
I am very sympathetic with the emotion you express and I do not consider this issue is in any way normal or acceptable. However, as I have said, the solution to your problem may lie outside of Vivaldi.
The normal route for such issues is to refer to your dCS dealer who is initially responsible for putting things right for you. Have you explored this as he may be able to check ALL of your system ?
Hi Charles,
My understanding is that after your Vivaldi DAC was checked over by the US Service Centre then your dealer was going to test out your DAC once they had it back at the store before it came back to you and they were going to visit you to find out what was going on in your system … it seems that those things haven’t happened yet but we have flagged this to your dealer yesterday and are discussing what the plan is to move this forward…
If I remember correctly you are using McIntosh amplification - does your amplifier have any facility for switching the inputs between AC and DC coupling? If there is the option to select AC coupling then does enabling that make any difference?
Phil, many McIntosh amps use transformer coupling to speakers which should deal with the DC aspect (including SS designs AFAIK). So the amp’s identity may be needed first to explore this aspect.