Musical Fidelity A3 24 Up/oversampling DAC


Hello to all of my fellow AudiogoN members. I like to think that, when it comes to the ins and outs of our hobby, I have enough knowledge to work through most problems. Right now, however, I have a scenerio that I could use the help of my fellow audiophiles and it involves my new Musical Fidelity A3 24 DAC.

I know that there was an issue with the earlier units with the "lock" on a digital signal so I waited to buy one until MF said they resolved the issue. Wallah, I know own one and the sound is pretty gosh darn good but the "lock" light blinks from time to time and I occasionally hear a pop through my speakers when it does so. My immediate response was great, I'm having the same problem that others have warned me about. I did some detective work and found that it seems to be interference related to certain electrical equipment in my home. It only seems to do this when my in-ground sprinkler system is running or when we use water in the house. The only thing I can think of is noise being sent through the electrical system by the water pumps and power supplies for the water system. As strange as it sounds, I have never had it happen except during these times. I am currently running all equipment through a high-end power conditioner and surge protector.

OK, now for my questions. Anyone else out there have the A3 24 and experiencing similar problems? Any recommendations for a remedy other thank some AC noise traps like the Audioquests? Or, do you think there IS a problem with the unit? I really don't want to send the unit to MF for two months without knowing for sure, so before I start experimenting for solutions I'd like some opinions. Thanks so much.

-Jason
bruiserwy
Jason, if you bought the unit new, contact your dealer and discuss it with him. If you bought it used, contact Musical Fidelity and see what they have to say.

As to the "traps" that you are talking about, did you mean Audioprism rather than Audioquest ?

In terms of connecting the DAC to a PLC, my experience is that some PLC's let more interference through than others. They all reduce noise, but some get rid of more noise than others do. Sean
>
Hello-

Yep, Sean caught my error. I did, in fact, mean AudioPrism Quiet Lines. Thanks :).

-Jason
if you're going to use a power conditioner, I would recommend that you not use any of the isolation transformers or other passive or semi passive devices. The best choice is AC power regeneration like the PS Audio powerplants: P300 or P600