I received my SMSL M8 from this drop, and am having big issues. When connected to both of my pc's, I get all sorts of distortion from *any* audio. I have tried swapping usb ports on the machine (front/back/2.0/3.0), and uninstalling and reinstalling the driver which I downloaded from the smsl site. I have also tried raising and lowering the bit depth and sampling frequency from 16/44.1 all the way up to 32/384. Additionally, I have JRiver and tried feeding it some DSD tracks and get the same problem.
The audio is very distorted and I also get crackling and popping as well.
I would note that when I have it plugged into my mac (which I do not use or need it for), I do not seem to have any audio issues.
Any suggestions?
AudioKeithTry turning down the audio to about 50% on the windows mixer, then crank up your amplifier to compensate. I have had problems with various dacs and sound cards, where the content is mixed way too high and clips like crazy.
UzuzuMost amps will have a clipping indicator. Simply put, clipping occurs when the output level of the line-level source exceeds the maximum input level on the amplifier. As Demogorgo said, the simple solution to this is to turn the volume down the source. You can simply locate a particularly troublesome sample and back the volume off on the PC until your amp stops clipping. Leave that as your max source volume and adjust the volume on the amplifier from there. If you are using powered speakers and can only use windows to control the volume, adjust the gain on the speakers so that the identified maximum input level gives you the highest volume you are comfortable with. That will give you the ability to adjust the full volume range of the speakers within the condensed volume range on the source, and reduce the likelihood that you will be tempted to crank the volume higher on the source.
The audio is very distorted and I also get crackling and popping as well.
I would note that when I have it plugged into my mac (which I do not use or need it for), I do not seem to have any audio issues.
Any suggestions?