2. digital
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Do all DAC's need a signal to lock on to?

Not knowing a thing about digital technology I'll apologize in advance if this is a stupid question, but here goes.

I wanted to use my 3-year old Rotel changer with a DAC and discovered that the Rotel is one of those players that will only output a digital signal when there is music to play. So the DAC I tried (an MSB) would have to re-lock on the signal after every disc and track change, which is accompanied by a loud click from the relay in the unit and an audible thump thru the speaker as the output is turned on. Pretty annoying.

So, do all DACs work this way, i.e., will they only 'switch on' when there is a signal present, or is this something peculiar to the design of this DAC?
joetoto

Showing 1 response by sean

sean
6,231 posts
 
This is not abnormal and depends on the design of the two components in use. The clicks that you're hearing is the relay engaging which in turn feeds the digital signal into the converter. I'm pretty sure that there is a simple way to disable the "clicking" on the MSB. This would entail "hard wiring" the relay so that the DAC is always activated, even if there isn't a digital signal present. I had to do this on one of my DAC's. This was done by simply lifting a leg on a transistor. Try contacting MSB and see what they have to say.... Sean
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