To my ears it only adds hazyness, loss of dynamics and an ugly high end. It is definitely an effect and less true to the source, I have confirmed that with recordings of the DAM1021 into a Lavry Gold AD.
My dam1021 started working again! Didn't really do anything just left it powered off for a few weeks now. Works in all modes.
I do think my EMU0404 digital out could be broken, or I just have the wrong firmware installed. Just bought a cheap USB to SPDIF converter on Amazon and the SPDIF out from that works. Maybe the SPDIF inputs on the dam1021 have been functional this whole time idk, but the USB/I2S input was definitely broken up until a couple of days ago when I checked.
So now I have at least three working systems that can produce enough current into the HD800s: dam1021s, EMU0404, and the cheap USB DAC. Maybe I should take some time to compare them. 🙂
I do think my EMU0404 digital out could be broken, or I just have the wrong firmware installed. Just bought a cheap USB to SPDIF converter on Amazon and the SPDIF out from that works. Maybe the SPDIF inputs on the dam1021 have been functional this whole time idk, but the USB/I2S input was definitely broken up until a couple of days ago when I checked.
So now I have at least three working systems that can produce enough current into the HD800s: dam1021s, EMU0404, and the cheap USB DAC. Maybe I should take some time to compare them. 🙂
It could have been the Amanero that was temporarily damaged by EMI for sure. It would make the most sense since it's the first thing that the USB signal goes into. I just had no reason to suspect that the SPDIF out on the EMU0404 was malfunctioning, until I noticed that even though it can't play music, it can still feed background noise into the dam1021 if I turn on direct monitor and turn the mic amps to the max. That's why I bought the USB DAC. I guess it could be pure coincidence that everything started working again when the new USB DAC arrived.
Would be nice if there's a scientific explanation for what happened to my dam1021. In the meantime, I think I might consider switching to toslink just to be safe...
Right off the bat, the USB DAC is extremely noisy compared to the dam1021. It could just be a broken design, but the specification does say 0.006% THD+N and >102db SNR... and 38mw into 300Ohm headphones
I can probably measure it with the EMU0404 at some point though. Maybe it's off-spec
I can probably measure it with the EMU0404 at some point though. Maybe it's off-spec
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The DAM1021 is 25 dB better in terms of SNR. But 102 dB should be enough with proper gain staging (vinyl has 60 dB and a tape machine with Dolby A could reach 80dB).
Exactly. I doubt I can hear even -90db noise. But this is an in-your-face kind of noisy, and it's not necessarily just background noise. Hopefully it's just off-spec and will show up in measurements.
Couldn't resist doing a quick measurement with the EMU0404. The headphone out is a respectable 0.05% THD+N, with -80db harmonic distortions, and the overall noise floor is almost undetectable. Line out is about the same. Not exactly within spec, but also not nearly bad enough to explain the noisy output.
Actually it can't just be Amanero since the dam1021 was locking on to I2S signals even when the Amanero is powered off... There was indeed a hardware malfunction in the dam1021 which resolved on its own over a period of a few weeks...
Just thought I'd share this level-matched ABX result between two R2R dacs here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...audio-spring2-kte-listening-evaluation.10989/
I tend to believe that the OP actually passed the test. Pretty mind-blowing actually, especially with a tube amplifier after the DACs...
Also realized that the audio port on my PC actually is quite powerful and more than loud enough for the HD800. It sounds closer to the dam1021 than the EMU0404 and in a good way, but it's probably not that hard to tell apart the dam1021 and onboard audio - using the same descriptors that people seem to keep using for the soekris dacs. (I think my EMU0404 might actually be broken...) Personally, one observation is that the dam1021 seems to be more revealing, but I wouldn't attribute negative qualities necessarily to the dac, not when the transducers are far, far from perfect. I know that the HD800 is far, far smoother sounding than the HD650, which itself isn't bad either. It's not hard to imagine that electrostatics can sound even smoother and closer to the real thing, though I suspect Stax headphones may be a bit colored by design. The point is, attributing specific qualities to equipment really gives me pause...
I tend to believe that the OP actually passed the test. Pretty mind-blowing actually, especially with a tube amplifier after the DACs...
Also realized that the audio port on my PC actually is quite powerful and more than loud enough for the HD800. It sounds closer to the dam1021 than the EMU0404 and in a good way, but it's probably not that hard to tell apart the dam1021 and onboard audio - using the same descriptors that people seem to keep using for the soekris dacs. (I think my EMU0404 might actually be broken...) Personally, one observation is that the dam1021 seems to be more revealing, but I wouldn't attribute negative qualities necessarily to the dac, not when the transducers are far, far from perfect. I know that the HD800 is far, far smoother sounding than the HD650, which itself isn't bad either. It's not hard to imagine that electrostatics can sound even smoother and closer to the real thing, though I suspect Stax headphones may be a bit colored by design. The point is, attributing specific qualities to equipment really gives me pause...
Yes, this is a very common behaviour for electronics - self healing... 😉 - most probably you actually did something, somehow...
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@wushuliu reported a similar self-healing behavior of the dam1021 after ESD damage, which is why I thought this could work in the first place and chose to wait it out. Many thanks to him for the great advice. I also documented clear changes in the dac behavior over time, none of which was normal... I truly did not do anything and simply left the DAC completely powered off.
The toslink input to the EMU0404 seems to be working, and the sound signature is similar to USB input - feathery, ethereal, zero presence... The physical connection of the USB port on the EMU0404 has had some stability issues, but now I'm starting to think that the EMU0404 is functioning perfectly well and that it's just what the AKM chip sounds like... (except for getting proper toslink output, but maybe the problem is just that I don't know how to use it correctly...)
There can be no doubts here. Amaneros are known for fixing themselves after EMI attacks.
Goodness, the amount of words that were wasted on this...