I am running into an odd problem. The sound become "brittle" or sounds odd for a second or two at a time at random points. It does not occur at the same point in the song. Sometimes it's every minute or two and sometime it does not happy for longer lengths of time. I can not figure out what is causing the problem. Here is the equipment I am using:
Dell laptop running Window 10
USB Connection to:
Sewell Soundbox Pro External USB Sound Card, 24 bit 192 KHz Audio
Optical Cable to:
Music Fidelity Pre24 (though same problem to another stereo)
The problem continues with Wasapi and Direct Sound.
Can anyone point me in the right direction.
Thank you.
Greg
Windows 10 doesn't always play nice with USB DAC's, or their drivers. I had similar issues using a Focusrite 2i2.
If you must stay with Win 10:
1. Do a search on line, try setting your pc up for "high performance", including disabling of USB power saving(?) in Control Panel.
2. Use your DAC without a driver (uninstall it). It won't be capable of anything over probably 24/96, but it may be worth it for the slight and likely imperceptible difference. A friend of mine has the cheaper Sewell DAC and it works flawlessly without a driver (analog outs).
3. In the next few months Microsoft will be releasing an upgrade to Win 10 that includes USB Audio 2.0. After taking the update your DAC may work with full resolution without a driver.
Hope this helps.