How To How do I get my sound working through my DAC? Need some advice!

[Yoran]

Hello everyone,

I'd recently decided I wanted some better audio gear, moving a step up from my Beyerdynamic DT 770's and my Schiit Magni Heresy. I decided on some Hifiman Arya Stealths, with the Topping A70 & D70 Pro's. I got the amp in the mail first, connected it with a mini rca cable directly to my desktop and experienced no problems.

Then the dac came in the mail. Unplugged the mini rca, connected the amp & dac with the topping tcx1 xlr cables and a usb a/c directly into my motherboard. Updated both the amp and dac to the latest versions, got the right driver for the dac, swapped to the right output in the windows playback device section... no sound. Both the amp and dac turn on, screens work, windows recognizes the correct dac and even recognizes there's sound being played through the right playback device. Dac has been set to the right input aswell. I feel like I've tried most things, but I am very new to this.

I must be missing something. Everything else seems to work, everything is recognized, but I'm not hearing anything. Where do I start troubleshooting this issue?

 

[Factualist]

I had a similar issue, not with the same gear. Turned out switching the amp on first, then source then DAC resolved the issue.

 

[Friesiansam]

What software are you using to play music?

 

[Yoran]

What software are you using to play music?

I'm unsure of what you mean; would I need specific software to be able to hear sounds, and then troubleshoot from there? Youtube, Spotify and other software I've tried haven't been able to produce sound so far. Or are you referring to specific drivers software?

 

[Jasonovich]

Have you done the basics in Windows setup? In the sound output option have you selected the Topping DACs?
Sorry if this sounds obvious. I assume you downloaded the Topping USB (ASIO) drivers.

 

[Yoran]

Have you done the basics in Windows setup? In the sound output option have you selected the Topping DACs?
Sorry if this sounds obvious. I assume you downloaded the Topping USB (ASIO) drivers.

View attachment 8293

Haha, no worries at all. I've downloaded the Topping drivers, updated both the amp and dac to their latest firmware and have selected my output device to be 'Topping USB DAC' (this was 'Topping D70 Pro Sabre' before the driver install). Windows recognizes the DAC, there is volume being displayed on the screen of the DAC, I've selected USB on the DAC but the only thing that is missing is sound. I'll try reinstalling the drivers tonight to see if that makes any difference, but I just don't know how to troubleshoot this issue effectively.

If the DAC isn't on, so just the AMP, audio plays fine through Realtek.

 

[Friesiansam]

If you are using the Realtek sound device in your pc, whilst using your external DAC, you are sending the DAC an analogue signal, therefore it cannot do it’s job.

You need to use WASAPI or ASIO drivers to feed the DAC a digital signal via USB.

I use Foobar2000 and the ASIO drivers supplied by Pathos, to send to my headphone amp’s DAC via USB.

 

[Yoran]

If you are using the Realtek sound device in your pc, whilst using your external DAC, you are sending the DAC an analogue signal, therefore it cannot do it’s job.

You need to use WASAPI or ASIO drivers to feed the DAC a digital signal via USB.

I use Foobar2000 and the ASIO drivers supplied by Pathos, to send to my headphone amp’s DAC via USB.

Thank you, I'll give this a shot tonight!

 

[Jasonovich]

Haha, no worries at all. I've downloaded the Topping drivers, updated both the amp and dac to their latest firmware and have selected my output device to be 'Topping USB DAC' (this was 'Topping D70 Pro Sabre' before the driver install). Windows recognizes the DAC, there is volume being displayed on the screen of the DAC, I've selected USB on the DAC but the only thing that is missing is sound. I'll try reinstalling the drivers tonight to see if that makes any difference, but I just don't know how to troubleshoot this issue effectively.

If the DAC isn't on, so just the AMP, audio plays fine through Realtek.

Okey Dokey.

DAG? It's a DOG of an instruction
Sorry another obvious question.

Do have the D70 Pro set DAC or Preamp Mode? If you have it set to the latter, check the volume dial. I know obvious

As commented above, if you're using Foobar 2000 you need to download the plug-ins. It's a bit of a dogs dinner, when I was using Foobar 2000, I didn't follow the instructions correctly and I wasn't getting the sound.

I like Foobar it's free but I prefer J River (small costs), everything just works particularly DSD and high res formats. - see link below, you can use it free for thirty days then you have to cough cough.....cough up

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=67ab945267781390632064bfc7a15ed610667f2a0fa624b623eff3f259fa37c7JmltdHM9MTczODE5NTIwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=37f1f00e-6c14-6254-2838-e5616d2563af&psq=j+river+media+player&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanJpdmVyLmNvbS8&ntb=1

 

[Vincent Kars]

have selected my output device to be 'Topping USB DAC' (this was 'Topping D70 Pro Sabre' before the driver install). Windows recognizes the DAC, there is volume being displayed on the screen of the DAC, I've selected USB on the DAC

Looks like the computer part is correct.
Any setting on the DAC or amp to use the XLR connection?
Does the RCA out of the DAC works?

 

[Yoran]

No progress yet, unfortunately. Made sure I had the right Topping driver:



And also downloaded Foobar2000 with the installation wizard, but still no sound.

I'm sure it's a settings/drivers thing, but I can't figure it out for the life of me. Any chance screenshot below has anything to do with it, as it shows ASIO not active?



RCA from the DAC works the same as USB (so unfortunately, no sound, but noise is being displayed on the screen and in windows) and the setting on the DAC/AMP being 'BAL' doesn't change anything either.

If anyone's willing to troubleshoot this with me on a call, I'd be ever so grateful 😂

 

[Jasonovich]

No progress yet, unfortunately. Made sure I had the right Topping driver:

View attachment 8297

And also downloaded Foobar2000 with the installation wizard, but still no sound.

I'm sure it's a settings/drivers thing, but I can't figure it out for the life of me. Any chance screenshot below has anything to do with it, as it shows ASIO not active?

View attachment 8298

RCA from the DAC works the same as USB (so unfortunately, no sound, but noise is being displayed on the screen and in windows) and the setting on the DAC/AMP being 'BAL' doesn't change anything either.

If anyone's willing to troubleshoot this with me on a call, I'd be ever so grateful 😂

Foobar2000 is a dog but you only need to install it correctly once and it will work seamlessly.
Open the preferences in the Foobar2000 menu and check if Topping plug-in has been installed.

Configure Audio Output:

Open Preferences: Within Foobar2000, go to "File" > "Preferences".

Select Audio Device: Navigate to the "Playback" tab and choose your Topping DAC as the output device from the drop-down menu.

Install Necessary Components:

Access Components: In the Preferences window, go to the "Components" tab.

Find ASIO Driver: Search for and install the ASIO driver specifically designed for your Topping DAC model.
Install Other Plugins (optional): Depending on your needs, you might install additional plugins like a DSD decoder if you plan to play high-resolution audio formats.