"static" pops?!

Hi-Fi Corner
1

I just upgraded from a BlueSound Node 2i streamer to Aurender N10 and from a QuTest to a Weiss 204 DAC. Now I’m hearing some subtle popping periodically that sounds like static. It’s not constant and I only notice it when there is silence between music. Any ideas what this could be? When I swap out the Weiss with my QuTest I never hear it although I wonder whether that’s because the Weiss is more revealing and more sensitive.

I’m using the stock power for the Weiss and I wonder if I used an upgraded LPS if that would resolve the issue. I do know my house is known to have “dirty” power. I appreciate any suggestions for how to isolate the issue. Thanks!

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It certainly could be some noise from your mains or a device in the house that is causing it. We have a breadmaker for instance and that when running the kneeding motor creates quite a bit of noise.

Another potential cause is failing electrolytic capacitors in a power supply somewhere in your system.

It probably going to take a process of elimination to find what and where it is. You can try and turn off as much as possible in the house and also different bits of kit in your system to see what it may be.

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That was my immediate thought, the difference between Qutest and Weiss possible if the latter and/or its power supply is less effective at filtering mains borne interference.

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4

What type of connection are you using? That could be a USB driver issue, or a ground problem. See if it persists if you switch to Toslink.

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5

Do you have anything in the house sending internet through your power cables.

6

Nope.

7

I’m using a digital coax from the streamer to the DAC.
I tried Toslink and had other issues with audio drops.
The coax is a high-quality cable and I’ve tried three different cables with the same issue.

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I think you have a faulty DAC204, I have no such problems with mine, have it checked.

9

I wonder if it’s an issue with sample rate from files you’re listening to. Potentially a compatibility problem.

Next time you hear the static check the file sample rate/resolution of what you’re playing and see if you can replicate it.

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10

Not that then, unless you’ve missed em.
There are too many smart appliances around these days.

You changed two items, can you revert, make sure the problems gone and then add each individually?

11

I looked on my Aurender “Conductor” streaming app and for Qobuz it was set to 192 sample rate. I changed it to 96 and I haven’t heart the popping sound so far. I wonder if it was this sample rate setting?

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I would recommend not to oversample, send bit perfect to the DAC204 and let it do its thing. I tried different settings with my HQPlayer and it wasn’t worth it, whatever oversampling/digital filtering they are doing internally is very hard to improve upon.

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Looks like the Aurender N10 streamer doesn’t have an option to select the sample rate but it will automatically support the source file format.

I’ve tried three different high-end coax cables so I think I can rule out the interconnect.

I know my house has “dirty” noisy power. I’m highly suspecting that is what’s causing the issue and that it’s coming from my Weiss 204 DAC. I’m wondering if adding a separate LPS to the Weiss, such as the ModWright LPS would isolate the power enough to solve the issue - assuming that the noisy power is the cause. Unfortunately, that means I’d need to dish out another $1k for the PSU. :confused:

Another approach would be to add a higher end power conditioner that powers all of my components. I suspect that won’t be cheap either. :confused:

Suggestions/advice/other ideas is welcome at this point!

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The stock SMPS is simply not the best option sound quality wise, but it is not going to cause audible pops or noises, I would sent the DAC for service, there is no reason why it would be making any noises. Mine is completely quiet regardless of power supply or source connection type.

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Linear power supplies are not necessarily best at blocking noise from the mains, if that is what the problem is. However you did mention it was present on 192 but not 96KHz sample rate, so I’d explore that more: play numerous files of each, and if only on 192 it suggests nothing to do with mains noise but the sample rate, pointing to quite a different path to resolution.

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17

Since Murphy may be reading these posts, I won’t say it’s “FIXED” yet, but…

My Wifi Mesh node was close to the streamer and DAC. I moved it further away and ran the ethernet cable to the Aurender. The wifi mesh may have been introducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI).

I’m optimistic and will continue to listen this weekend and update the post to either confirm, or deny this claim. :slight_smile: Thanks to everyone who responded. I appreciate your help!

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