Hi there,
I'm experiencing performance issues when I connect my new DAC v1 to my laptop via USB -- some advice would be hugely appreciated.
Im current using a 1m USB cable and Foobar / JRiver / YouTube to play music. At some point during playback, sound will intermittently cut out from my headphones (plugged into DAC) and start playing through my laptop speakers. This happens back-and-forth, eventually followed by the media player crashing. I sometimes then get a message stating the USB device is not recognised.
Bizarrely, when I tried a new 3m USB cable, music through a media player would stop 1-2 secs into a song. The media player wouldn't crash, but it would 'ignore' any buttons I pressed. YouTube would give me a static screen, but Google Chrome itself also didn't crash. Playback with the 3m USB was impossible either way; having switched back to the 1m cable, I can currently listen to 10-15 mins music before problems begin.
My laptop's CPU / memory in task manager never goes above 40% while this happens, so I'm not pushing it too hard. I'm using Windows 10, so I also disconnect my internet to stop automatic downloads causing slowdown. Finally, I reinstalled all drivers following Naim's instruction manual. None of this makes any difference -- I experience no laptop issues when the Naim is unplugged.
Could the issue be the Naim drivers and Windows 10 compatibility?
Posted on: 14 August 2016 by Tuomo
I also have laptop ->1 m Chord Silver USB -> DAC-V1. I play Tidal and JRiver. Have not met this kind of problem, but sometimes (not always) there were after 10 - 50 min listening period some short less than 1 sec breaks in music. I closed my JRiver and this fixed problem for a while. Now with Windows 10 the problem does not exist anymore. Someone could tell if it is software problem or settings of laptop or....
I am seeking information if sound quality could be further improved by doing something with input signal of DAC-V1.
Posted on: 14 August 2016 by Brilliant
@LEIDSEKADE
There was a time the switching (to laptop speakers) was happening to me on occasion. I cannot remember the details of the actual setup though. I thought it had to do with the browser/default device setting but I am not sure - Is your browser and media player both set for DAC-V1 output ? Try it one way or the other or close the browser. A bit of trial & error wit the setup might help.
I have been running the DAC-V1 V1.16 f/w. Win driver v2., off a couple of HP 8440p/Win 10/J River v21/22 setups for a while now - no issues.
@TUOMO
I tried the Chord Silver USB on the DAC-V1 among a few other cables (may be 6 or so). It was not a fav. You could try a Belkin Gold series for comparison. My fav turned out to be a standard non branded cable. If you have one without the 5V supply that might also be worth a try. Lastly the DAC-V1 USB sounds a lot more open when hooked up to my desktop 2core PC mboard than it does with the laptops, probably due to a better power supply.
Posted on: 14 August 2016 by Brilliant
He is right of course in the sense that bit perfect is the absolute requirement for the DAC! However there is always the noise issue that is the 'gremlin' in the analogue circuits. This may be hard to predict or quantify for every setup, and I am sure Naim have put in their vast expertise to mitigate it, as the resources may have allowed. DAC-V1 is top notch Naim when all falls into place. I have tried the USB Regen, and Audioquest Jitterberg on the DAC-V1 and they did not improve the SQ. However switching from a laptop to my desktop there is a clear improvement. In addition, every USB cable I have tried on the DAc-V1 has changed the sound somewhat! I did ask NAIM about that but did not get a reply.
You have a chance to try it out yourself though - see what you think.
ATB
B.
