USB C audio popping with DAC

dextrostar

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I got a Earmen DAC for both desktop use and with the phone which Doesn't have 3.5mm port.
The sound is perfect with the desktop but when the DAC is connected to the USB C port there is popping sound every now and then from any streaming apps or music from internal storage.
It Oneplus 8.
Anyone facing USB C popping issue with DACs?
 
If it works fine on PC then probably issue isn't with the DAC itself. Try to narrow down the real culprit by trying the DAC with another Android device.
 
I got a Earmen DAC for both desktop use and with the phone which Doesn't have 3.5mm port.
The sound is perfect with the desktop but when the DAC is connected to the USB C port there is popping sound every now and then from any streaming apps or music from internal storage.
It Oneplus 8.
Anyone facing USB C popping issue with DACs?

Hi
Generally, popping issue comes when the DAC is not getting the required current (ampere). Can yiu share how you are powering the DAC.

Also when the source is not able to maintain a continuous data stream to the DAC.
 
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Yeah true. I have tried to switch off pocket mode as indicated somewhere but that didn't help. Some suggest using USB audio player pro which is a paid app but am not sure if it will work or not.

I noticed others with Samsung ultra,S10..etc arlso facing the same issue so am not the only one.

Need some inputs from FMs who might have faced similar issue.

Thanks in advance.

Hi
Generally, popping issue comes when the DAC is not getting the required current (ampere). Can yiu share how you are powering the DAC.

It's a portable DAC meant to work with a phone with a phone connected via USB C to USB C cable provided with the DAC.
 
It's a portable DAC meant to work with a phone with a phone connected via USB C to USB C cable provided with the DAC.

I think it can be powered externally also. If possible try that. If the popping still persists then the phone is not able to stream the data at the speed required by the DAC. These gaps of data are the popping you are hearing.
 
I think it can be powered externally also. If possible try that. If the popping still persists then the phone is not able to stream the data at the speed required by the DAC. These gaps of data are the popping you are hearing.

The Earmen DAC has only Type C input and a 3.5mm unbalanced output and a 2.5mm balanced output. The pop happens for Gaana, Spotify and Tidal. So it's not an issue with the quality of the audio file.

Hi @swamytk @MaSh believe you all use your DACs with the phone. If so can you shed some light on this aspect please.

Thanks
 
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Hi @swamytk @MaSh believe you all use your DACs with the phone. If so can you shed some light on this aspect please.

Thanks
Actually no. I do not use phone as a source. Phone is a phone for me. That said, I recently got myself a ibasso dc01 balanced dac and fiio FH1. Seeing this post I actually tried gaana and Spotify via the phone. No pops or anything like that.

MaSh
 
Hi @dextrostar Both the current FX Audio DAC X6 and newly ordered Topping E30, my usage is with Stereo Amp only.

Ok then. Seems quite strange that same problem persists when tried with different phones with type C. I am surprised that there is hardly any content about using DACs with phones... Bluetooth with DAC cannot beat a wired connection. Still I guess there is hardly few users of this category.
 
It seems the culprit is your phone. It is very difficult to debug misbehaviour of streaming apps. However, I will share some pointers for you to work on.

1. Power management
Android works by stopping apps working in the background once the screen is locked. This results into app stopping and starting repeatedly. I am not familiar with oneplus system settings but please check in the battery/power header if the battery is optimised for spotify. It should NOT be optimised or monitored. Remove it from the list. Go into apps, force stop spotify, clear the cache and restart the mobile.

2. Availability of space.
Android leaves a lot of residual files especially with online apps and games. These temporary files eat a lot of the space and when an online app downloads data, the bits do not get contiguous locations. This scattering of data creates these kind of issues. Clean these residual files so as to free up space. I use sd maid app for this purpose.

Do this for all the three apps that are misbehaving. See if it helps you.
 
It seems the culprit is your phone. It is very difficult to debug misbehaviour of streaming apps. However, I will share some pointers for you to work on.

1. Power management
Android works by stopping apps working in the background once the screen is locked. This results into app stopping and starting repeatedly. I am not familiar with oneplus system settings but please check in the battery/power header if the battery is optimised for spotify. It should NOT be optimised or monitored. Remove it from the list. Go into apps, force stop spotify, clear the cache and restart the mobile.

2. Availability of space.
Android leaves a lot of residual files especially with online apps and games. These temporary files eat a lot of the space and when an online app downloads data, the bits do not get contiguous locations. This scattering of data creates these kind of issues. Clean these residual files so as to free up space. I use sd maid app for this purpose.

Do this for all the three apps that are misbehaving. See if it helps you.

Hmm... interesting..It's a new phone with ample space and 12gb RAM with 256GB ROM. Wonder what's the issue.
 
Actually no. I do not use phone as a source. Phone is a phone for me. That said, I recently got myself a ibasso dc01 balanced dac and fiio FH1. Seeing this post I actually tried gaana and Spotify via the phone. No pops or anything like that.

MaSh
How did you connect the phone to the DAC?.I have an inkling about what might be going on.
I used the USB C to C connector from the DAC to the phone.
 
How did you connect the phone to the DAC?.I have an inkling about what might be going on.
I used the USB C to C connector from the DAC to the phone.
Already mentioned, IBASSO dc01 is a usb C dac. My phone has a usb c port. So does my laptop.

MaSh
 
Did you use male type C to female USB cable? Or male type c to male type c cable?
Not sure what you're asking. The dac comes with a male USB c connector. Just plug it into the phone and it's recognised.

Here is the link to it for more details.


MaSh
 
Not sure what you're asking. The dac comes with a male USB c connector. Just plug it into the phone and it's recognised.

Here is the link to it for more details.


MaSh

Ok I got it. It's different for my DAC so wondered maybe cable type might be the reason for my issue.
 
Ok I got it. It's different for my DAC so wondered maybe cable type might be the reason for my issue.
Oh ok. Did you try another phone? Just noticed your phone, mine is the same. And I used a normal free account of gaana and Spotify. Haven't renewed either of them.

MaSh
 
Oh ok. Did you try another phone? Just noticed your phone, mine is the same. And I used a normal free account of gaana and Spotify. Haven't renewed either of them.

MaSh

Yes with same result. Today even tried with an OTG cable as OTG powers the DAC instead using the simple type C cable provided with the DAC with same result. I have run out of options now. It works almost fine with the Mac with maybe little crackle once in few hours.
 
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