Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[humzet]

Please could someone assist me, i cannot get my software to connect to my DAC. I have tried using two days, one a REGA DAC and the other Esoteric and neither are connecting.

The output tab in settings only gives me the "internal speakers" option and nothing else. The sound is working perfectly from my MAC.

I have downloaded special driver software for the Esoteric DAC to no avail. REGA do not supply drivers for their DAC which is a very basic one and should connect no problem.

If anyone can help is will be grateful as I have explored all options to no avail ?

Cheers

Humzet

[glynor]

To be clear, you can see the DACs in the System Preferences > Sound Panel, select them as the output device, and use them to make the default sounds on the Sound Effects tab of the same panel?  This is correct?

If that is the case, then they should show up in MC under Tools > Options > Audio > Audio Device dialog and allow you to choose them.  Please confirm.  Thanks.

[humzet]

Thanks for your response.

No, the DACs cannot be seen in system preferences no matter what I do. Does this mean they won't appear in MC?

[humzet]

I am new to MC, having recently abandoned Media Monkey.

I have never had any issues with the Rega DAC (until now) and had the Esoteric DAC working after I downloaded the Mac driver for it from the Esoteric website.

About a week ago I had the following error message appear in MC and it is after this that things have stopped working;

Something went wrong with playback,
-Playback could not be started on the output "core audio" using the format "44.1Khz 2ch".
-This output format may not be supported by your hardware. You can use DSP studio to change the output to a compatible format.
-Also make sure your system has a valid sound playback device and it is properly configured in playback options.

I have tried downloading the drivers again but no luck there. Not even the REGA DAC is being picked up by my MAC.

[jkleman]

I am very new to this as well. I am having the same error message and I am completely lost on what to do. I have been searching on here as to not ask the same question repeatedly. I am using a Cambridge Audio DAC plus on USB. I had one previous to this from music fidelity and that is where all of my problems started. No matter what I do I get that exact same message as the last post on here. The DAC shows in the preferences page and is selected. I am able to play the audio through VLC just not JRiver.

HELP!!!!

[glynor]

No, the DACs cannot be seen in system preferences no matter what I do. Does this mean they won't appear in MC?

Yes.  That's exactly what this means.  For MC to see them, they have to have a working driver that works with CoreAudio (which means they'll show in the System Preferences dialog).

You have to get it working there first, and that's something with your DAC manufacturer and OSX.

More detail:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Audio_Setup

[glynor]

The DAC shows in the preferences page and is selected. I am able to play the audio through VLC just not JRiver.

Then your issue isn't the same at all.  But, the advice remains the same.  Please work through the Audio Setup guide I linked above. Once you have it set that way, and working, you can explore other options.

[Y. G. Bae]

Hello Jkleman,

I also own a DacMagic Plus, but it works perfectly with JRiver MC. Have you changed any settings when you had Musical Fidelity DAC?

Best regards,
Y. G.

[jkleman]

Hello Jkleman,

I also own a DacMagic Plus, but it works perfectly with JRiver MC. Have you changed any settings when you had Musical Fidelity DAC?

Best regards,
Y. G.

I believe I changed somethings trying to get the other one to work. I basically tried to save money from what was suggested to me and now I am with out my music. Its driving me crazy. What doesn't help I am also VERY new to Mac so I don't even know how to uninstall and reinstall the program to see if makes it back to normal. Live and learn I suppose.

[humzet]

Hello Glynor

I am at a complete loss. I have followed the set up instructions you kindly referred me to but no joy.

It seems this could be a common kind of issue? None of my DACs are appearing in system preferences (in spite of downloading the correct driver) and the only option i have is "internal speakers".

I wonder if there is a special setting in core audio somehow?

Should I be looking at Windows instead of MAC? I could get Windows installed on my MAC i guess to run MC for Windows. My Mac is dedicated to music only. This is not my preferred option but perhaps the easiest to resolve the issues.

Thanks for your support.

[JimH]

Either Mac or Windows will work.  If your devices aren't showing up, there may be something wrong at the OS level.  Maybe your DAC requires a different driver.  The manufacturer of the device should have information for that.

[blgentry]

Humzet:

If neither DAC is working with the Operating System, it suggests that something larger is going on.  Are these DACs USB?  You might try plugging into a different USB port, or bypassing any USB hubs you might be using.  Verify that your cables are all plugged in all the way.  Power cycle the DAC.  Reboot the Mac.

The key here is to get the DAC to appear in System Preferences on the Mac.  Once you get there, it shouldn't be very difficult to set it up in MC.

As JimH suggested, maybe you should call tech support for one of your DAC manufacturers and have them help you get it working to the System Preferences level.

Good luck!

Brian.

[MikeBRG]

Humzet

If your Rega DAC is a few years old, the usb input will only accept 16 bit/48k input. You will have to use the coax input for all the many other resolutions. I am sure MC can convert for you once you have established contact at this single data rate.

Other users on the web report trouble connecting an Esoteric DAC to mac minis in that if they alter the Esoteric inputs, the usb input drops out and will not reconnect. A suggested solution is to use the following switch-on sequence: first switch on the esoteric and select the usb input, then switch on the mac. It should then appear in the Sound Panel as an option and from there you can select it in MC, as described.

Jkleman - I have nothing new to suggest as it seems your mac can at least see the DACs. Do they both show up in the mac Sound Panel, when connected individually? What is your mac and OS?

Unusual issues as macs are usually very tolerant of connected devices.  Good hunting.

[humzet]

Hello
Thanks for your responses, zjim H, big entry and mike BRG

I have tried your suggestions but to no avail. The worst part of this experience is that the DACS were both working perfectly last week up until i got the error message outlined above. This tells me that the issue is either with MC or with my MAC OS ( Yosemite 10.10.2). My Macbook air was purchased new in early 2014.

What do I do now?

[glynor]

It seems this could be a common kind of issue? None of my DACs are appearing in system preferences (in spite of downloading the correct driver) and the only option i have is "internal speakers".

Not really common.  This isn't an issue with MC at all.  If the OS can't see the DAC, then MC can't use it.

That's really between you and the DAC manufacturer. I'd suggest you contact them for assistance. With every DAC I've ever used on my Macs, you just install the driver, and usually reboot, and then it shows up in the system preferences.  I can't unfortunately, help you with MC if you can't get past that step, though.

[glynor]

I believe I changed somethings trying to get the other one to work. I basically tried to save money from what was suggested to me and now I am with out my music. Its driving me crazy. What doesn't help I am also VERY new to Mac so I don't even know how to uninstall and reinstall the program to see if makes it back to normal. Live and learn I suppose.

If you have gotten your DAC set up and working in System Preferences on your Mac, and you just need help getting it configured to work in MC, please read through the Audio Setup guide I linked above, and if that doesn't work, please post in a new thread.

One issue, and the reason people are getting confused, I think is that this error dialog looks similar for many different kinds of issues:



That is a fairly generic error message in MC.  It means "something went wrong with playback" (that's why it says that).  Any time anything goes wrong with playback causing it to fail, MC shows a version of that error dialog. It can be caused by a variety of different misconfigurations, for different causes (and the rest of the error dialog, under Details, is the important part).

But, if you just search the forum for "something went wrong" you might get the impression that all of the problems are related.  They absolutely are NOT.  This can be caused by all sorts of things, from you having MC itself set up wrong, to the audio output device being broken, to the audio output device being disconnected entirely (you forgot to plug it in).

In any case, Humzet, started this thread, and he's having issues getting the OS to see his DAC at all.  Assuming you can get the OS to see your DAC, and you just need help configuring it in MC, it would be best not to "pollute" Humzet's thread with unrelated (and possibly confusing) discussion of your separate issue.  Most issues like this can be solved by running through the Setup Guide, and then carefully enabling options if you need "extras" (most people don't).  But, if you need help, we'll help, but ask in a separate thread so it doesn't confuse this one.

[glynor]

What do I do now?

Call or email the manufacturer of your DACs. When you call them, the issue isn't with MC. It is that the OS can't see them.

My guess?

They broke. The error message was the last gasp of the hardware failing, and now the OS can't see them because they're burned out.

[humzet]

Thanks Glynor 

You are right, something was broken, but not the DACs nor MC. It was a fault with my USB cable!!

Your help is appreciated!

Regards

Humzet