Instructions for connecting USB DAC to Touch

[JohnSwenson]

Thanks both to John and Johnny,

With a fresh start this morning I got it working! Just in time for the trial of the Furutech (ADL) DAC.

Michiel

GREAT! So how does it sound?

John S.

[MEdeVries]

Hi,

It sounds great - I have a tube amplifier and this DAC provides/restores the detail and placement that sometimes gets lost with the tubes. I ended up buying the DAC.

I have one remaining question: The Touch only plays songs (at all) after rebooting. When I turn it off with the screen/remote and then turn it on again, it still refuses to play anything until reboot.

Is that normal/part of the effects of this mod? Or is it avoidable?

I have no issue leaving the Touch on all the time, but then I would also have to leave the DAC on all the time as well. I'm not sure whether it is designed for that (I'll check our distributor here).

Michiel

[johnnydarko]

Hi,

I have one remaining question: The Touch only plays songs (at all) after rebooting. When I turn it off with the screen/remote and then turn it on again, it still refuses to play anything until reboot.

Is that normal/part of the effects of this mod? Or is it avoidable?

It is normal and (most probably) unavoidable. The Touch needs to boot to see attached USB devices.

[JohnSwenson]

Hi,

I have one remaining question: The Touch only plays songs (at all) after rebooting. When I turn it off with the screen/remote and then turn it on again, it still refuses to play anything until reboot.

Is that normal/part of the effects of this mod? Or is it avoidable?

I have no issue leaving the Touch on all the time, but then I would also have to leave the DAC on all the time as well. I'm not sure whether it is designed for that (I'll check our distributor here).

Michiel

If all you are doing is pressing the power button (NOT unplugging it) and leaving the DAC turned on, it should play after "waking up". All the "power button" does is stop anything thats playing and invokes a special "power off" screensaver, it doesn't really power down anything. (it uses less power because its not playing anything, but that it)

If you are turning off the DAC then you will have to reboot whenever you turn the DAC back on. The best bet is just to leave the DAC on all the time. My experience has been that all DACs sound better after they have been on for awhile (some can take several hours to "warm up") so I always just leave the DACs on all the time.

John S.

[MEdeVries]

Hi,

The guys at Furutech also advise to leave the DAC on, so I'll just leave both on. The Touch won't play songs after using the power button (so not pulling the plug out), but this workaround is just fine.

Thanks again,

Michiel

[firedog]

http://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.com...r-network.html

Klaus (soundcheck) says he will have improved versions of his mods, including usb to DAC mod for Touch posted later today.

[joelha]

Well, after finally getting the USB port to output data, I now have sound but that sound is filled with pops and clicks.

I noticed that cocamegadose (post #27) has been using the HRT Streamer II+ using the USB port for outputting data with no issues and so I assumed that I could do the same.

I'm also using a netbook with an external hard drive as my source, if that information helps at all.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help me figure this out.

Joel

P.S. I'm using a netbook and external hard drive as my source communicating with my Squeezebox via wifi. Could it be my wifi connection that's causing the issue?

[OGS]

Well, after finally getting the USB port to output data, I now have sound but that sound is filled with pops and clicks.

I noticed that at least one other person has been using the HRT Streamer II+ (I think it's the "+") using the USB port for outputting data and so I assumed that I could do the same.

In any event, I would appreciate some help with this issue.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can figure this out for me.

Joel

The II and II+ behave the same way with the Touch unfortunately. I hope a version of alsa with async support will find it's way into the Touch firmware some time, but Logitech seems reluctant.

[JohnSwenson]

Well, after finally getting the USB port to output data, I now have sound but that sound is filled with pops and clicks.

I noticed that cocamegadose (post #27) has been using the HRT Streamer II+ using the USB port for outputting data with no issues and so I assumed that I could do the same.

I'm also using a netbook with an external hard drive as my source, if that information helps at all.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help me figure this out.

Joel

P.S. I'm using a netbook and external hard drive as my source communicating with my Squeezebox via wifi. Could it be my wifi connection that's causing the issue?

Hi Joel,
lets make sure the problem isn't Wifi, try connecting temporarily with a cable to the Touch. See if you have the same problems.

What sample rate are you using? Do you get the same results with different sample rates? Can you describe the clicks and pops - how often to they come, is it random or periodic, do they come in bursts with times of good playing in between?

I'd like you to try with and without the plug interface. Could you post what you have for the ALSA config and I can recommend a couple things to try.

John S.

[joelha]

First and most of all, what a good guy you are, John.

Thanks so much for offering help to me and quite a few others on this forum.

I've attached a file (as I didn't know how to copy and paste my ALSA config to this forum) showing my ALSA config.

I've played sample rates of 16-44 and 24-48.

At the times I've had problems, the noise has been random with no apparent difference in noise frequency between sample rates.

The pops and clicks were originally like the sounds I would get if I was playing a dirty record. Fairly pronounced.

More recently the noise has been reduced to soft "ticks" . . . again random.

Yes, there do seem to be periods of good playing and then the occasional ticks.

Now for a couple of questions I'm embarrassed to ask:

1. How do I engage and disengage the plug interface? If by the plug interface you mean the config file I created, then, without the file, I would be using my HRT Streamer directly connected to my netbook with a USB cable. In that case, of course, I would not be replicating the current situation.

2. And as for connecting with a cable to the Touch, can I connect the cable from my netbook to my Touch or are you talking about connecting my Touch to my router?

Thanks again for your offer to help.

Joel

P.S. Update: I've connected my Touch to the router. The "tick" sound is almost non-existent at the beginning of a 3 - 4 minute song. But towards the end of the song it becomes insufferable . . . almost like a record stylus getting stuck on a record at a high speed. Very frustrating as I was hoping my wifi was the culprit. I even shut down a file sync utility that I thought might have been eating up excessive bandwith, but no luck there.

P.P.S. I took my Touch and DAC to my office to try them on another network and the noise was still there. I also disabled as many plug-ins as I could (although I have a feeling that the plug interface is something else and will still try to find that option) but still with no improvement. John, your description of
" . . . do they come in bursts with times of good playing in between?" is the best description of what's happening.