Guest Eggcup The Daft Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 2 hours ago, powerav said: Sorry this is what I meant. It's just a bit of a pain switching settings on kodi from the Meridian DAC for 2 channel and than back to Integra AVR for movies but this is what I'll be doing as you will hear form this video probably explains why the nuc is bad for audio and what I was suspecting all along. Take a listen to this, this is the noise through the speaker when the Nuc is connected by HDMI to the AVR, you can hear the silence at the end when it turns off. That's not the problem you were describing, though, is it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 2 minutes ago, Eggcup The Daft said: That's not the problem you were describing, though, is it. I don't know, I suspect it may be the root of it as when connected to dac via USB it just didn't sound right, lower volume and just very plain and average. I think maybe connecting to avr with hdmi just bought it to light. it is a Gen 3 model by the way if that means anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eggcup The Daft Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 1 hour ago, powerav said: I don't know, I suspect it may be the root of it as when connected to dac via USB it just didn't sound right, lower volume and just very plain and average. I think maybe connecting to avr with hdmi just bought it to light. it is a Gen 3 model by the way if that means anything. It was the lower volume thing that got me here. That has to mean different bits, not something like bad jitter. And bad different bits is usually a software issue. It would be interesting to get to the root cause though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 7 hours ago, Eggcup The Daft said: It was the lower volume thing that got me here. It wasn't just that though, it lacked the punch of the PC, the bass just wasn't there either, even when I turned the volume on the PC to match the nuc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eggcup The Daft Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 (edited) That could suggest that the NUC hasn't recognised the Explorer properly. The lack of punch suggests poor digital volume control, ad the Explorer has an analogue control built in. In Windowsland, I'd suggest updating drivers and comparing output from Kodi with boring old WIndows Media Player. In this case, the NUC is supported by generic Libreelec so there shouldn't be a driver problem. I'd be inclined to wipe and reinstall (following one of the online installation guides on the web) before giving up. You can also ask for assistance in the right place: https://forum.libreelec.tv/ Edited August 15, 2017 by Eggcup The Daft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 @Eggcup The Daft I have given up and it's on eBay, that noise that you can hear in video was the death bell ringing. gonna build a new PC with these gigabyte USB Dac Up mother boards. They look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eggcup The Daft Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 3 hours ago, powerav said: @Eggcup The Daft I have given up and it's on eBay, that noise that you can hear in video was the death bell ringing. gonna build a new PC with these gigabyte USB Dac Up mother boards. They look good. I built a general purpose machine around one of the Gamer boards with the regulated USB socket for a DAC. I have a Dragonfly Red attached and it sounds slightly better than the ordinary USB sockets through both of my sets of headphones. The differences are slight but worth having: tonality is improved a little, as is imaging. Having said that, a cheaper board with a really good PSU and a Jitterbug may be better still for the same or less money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 (edited) On 14/08/2017 at 8:21 PM, Hi-Fi Whipped said: To offset the pain there must be a massive upside going down this route that I fail to see right now! This is why I stick with and always go back to Kodi, looks and ease of use even Roon don't look this good and more pain and equipment went into trying to display it on a large screen. Edited August 16, 2017 by powerav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Fi Whipped Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 (edited) yeh ok, glad for you that you've locked it in now and enjoying! Ive never been one for the tv on the listening to music but each to their own, that Primare looks sexy, love the look of their latest gear! Edited August 16, 2017 by Hi-Fi Whipped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 34 minutes ago, Hi-Fi Whipped said: yeh ok, glad for you that you've locked it in Hopefully it's locked in, for a couple of months anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 16 hours ago, Eggcup The Daft said: aving said that, a cheaper board with a really good PSU and a Jitterbug may be better still for the same or less money. Yeah I think this is the way to go, make a small form pc and something like the wyred 4 sound USB thingy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 On 8/16/2017 at 1:32 PM, Eggcup The Daft said: Having said that, a cheaper board with a really good PSU and a Jitterbug may be better still for the same or less money. Good tip, I just got a Wyred 4 Sound USB remedy and this made a big improvement, thanks for the advice. Some of the best I have had so far on here and didn't have to sell the house to get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eggcup The Daft Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 2 hours ago, powerav said: Good tip, I just got a Wyred 4 Sound USB remedy and this made a big improvement, thanks for the advice. Some of the best I have had so far on here and didn't have to sell the house to get it. Noted. The one time I heard one of those in use it made next to no difference to my ears - but I've heard cable effects and on one occasion a cheap powered hub improve sound. So I'm never surprised when they work. I actually think it shows up that either USB is inherently poor, or that USB DACs could be much better designed. We put up with a lot with this. Imagine if a brand of printer only worked properly with expensive cables and reclocking devices. Sales would plummet. Why shouldn't this be the same with USB audio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomerJ Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 (edited) I've been using a 3rd gen Intel i3 NUC for about 4 years without any audio issues like those mentioned here. I suspect the specific one mentioned was faulty. I've always used Kodi (LibreElec Linux build) with HDMI pass-through. I'm now using a Denon AVR-X7200WA, previously I used an Arcam AVR-600. I play only hi-res FLAC from BDA, DVD-A, SACD and some vinyl rips. When I moved to a media player I first compared various test FLACs made from my original discs to same discs played with an Oppo BDP-93 and I (and several friends) could not hear any difference in audio quality with random/blind tests. I'm running B&W 800 series fronts, rears and subs. There is zero noise/hum with NUC connected and amp at max volume. Edited October 1, 2017 by HomerJ1503560906 Added 'LibreElec Linux build' 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Good to hear you are using Kodi Libreelec on a hi quality system it always amazes me. it probably was a faulty Nuc as it was a very noticeable hum, I have had a Nuc before and wasn't an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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