USB output is not reliable or consistent.

I have the USB connected to minidsp USB input.
When I power up the system in the morning, there is no audio.
DMP-A6 does correctly see the minidsp since the USB/DAC output is enabled.
And it shows the Spotify playing on the main display.
Just no sound!

So far, the pattern to restore sound is to switch to another output such as
SPDIF and back and forther... then at some magic time, sound returns.
Has anyone any idea what is happening or better a solution?

thank you for your help

 

This is one of the reasons, among many, why I hate USB. Use something else if you can.

 

How do you exactly power the system up?
How many components are there?
In what order do you turn the devices on?

 

so i assume you've had similar issues.
unfortunately all other inputs (both toslink and spdif) are occupied on minidsp.
and both of digital inputs work without any hiccups.

wish i knew what makes the usb output begin to work after much fiddling...

 

i've got everything (amps, minidsp, raspberrypi, wiim, hdmi display, etc.) plugged into
essentially the same power strip. master switch is PS Audio Duet.
so all components are juiced at the same time!

 

Nutel may have a point. Try powering the A6 all the way up first before firing up the miniDSP and see if that works.

 

It's one of usb's many quirks.

 

May I contradict here? Only USB (and Internal) data paths run via XMOS being jitter free and will take advantage of the superior crystals of Eversolo players! It also has the highest bandwidth supporting all HD codecs. Use USB always if you can is my advice and avoid SPDIF where you can.

USB Host Port Output is a powered interface and many DAC's actively use/detect this power for activation. So the powerup sequence is definitely not irrelevant.

 

I've certainly had it relevant. USB is a mess. It doesn't belong in the chain. Only on a printer.

 

Haha USB3 (and USB4) is the new universal standard for everything next to HDMI for video.

 

Enjoy

 

I would have the external device, miniDSP in this case, fully powered up first, then turn the A6 on. Then the A6 will always see the device and be able to initially handshake to it before it is asked to send audio to it. I have an external DDC downstream from my A6 and always power that up first. I find the USB Audio OUT from the A6 to be very good and works without issue.

 

so what's your recommendation on the sequence, dmp-a6 first or dac first?
i know it's easy enough to try both.

before minidsp, i had denafrips dac connected to dmp's usb and there was never an issue with usb with a single power-on for all
components. obviously something with minidsp is different. by the way, in order to isolate the culprit, upon initial powerup
when dmp-a6 was not outputting any audio, it did properly detect minidsp and even automatically select it as output. at this point,
i can connect my laptop to minidsp via usb and music plays just fine. even pixel phone plays ok. so it's dmp-a6 that's sensitive
to minidsp.

 

I use a miniDSP SHD Studio box for room correction and I have directly connected my A6 using USB to that device without any issues. As I said in my earlier post, the SHD Studio is powered up fully first, USB Input selected, then A6 turned ON with USB Output port selected. No issues with this. Usually I use a DDC between the two, again this device on before the A6, no issues to report with that arrangement either.

 

When usb was doing that for me, it was streamer first, then dac that fixed it. NOT the other way around.

 

yup, minidsp first then dmp works.
but here's the thing: on second power-on with ALL components works as well. like it used to with denafrips dac.
it's as if the dmp-a6 (and its usb chip) has to be warmed up the first thing in the morning.
perhaps i'll blow some hair dryer on it before power-on

as a side note, i'm finding laptop or pixel phone direct to minidsp to have better sound than dmp-a6.
of course, this is subjective but both my wife and i have noticed it.

 

If USB is such a mess why do a large majority of audio companies include it on their DACs? Many of these companies are high end.

I use the USB output of my DMP-A6 with no issues at all. The USB is connected to the USB DAC input of a Marantz SA-KI Ruby. Both are powered up by a Harmony 688 remote.

 

Because it is superior functionally running via XMOS (or equivalent intermediate processing) plus providing ample bandwidth. No it is not simpler.

 

while i wouldn't call USB a "mess" but there is no question it can cause issues such as what i'm encountering,
specifically USB-A to USB-B audio connection. about a year ago, i had a SOtm SMS-200ultra streamer which had only one output,
so-called high end audio grade USB 2.0 port. it was connected to Benchmark DAC and they did not get along at all, much worse
than my current situation. both are now gone from my set up.

yeah, i'm not so thrilled with DMP-A6 and its USB behavior. even as a Spotify Connect device, it seems i have to kick start
it to go after the first track or so. this rarely happens with RaspberryPi/DigiOne or even $90 Wiim.
so, at this time, in my new setup, i have to power cycle DMP-A6 twice in order to get its USB audio to work;
this is not going a working solution. in time, i may put it on ebay like the others...

 

i've found a reasonable workaround:
set the Power mode to standby, wait 3 sec, power on.
usb audio works...