soundsbetter

Not really sure if there was any change due to the firmware. I replaced the pads on my headphones around the same time and that definitely changed (deepened) the sound.

Yes, I received the same suggestion and after seeing the warning messages on their web page I did the same double check. I can confirm that the firmware loaded successfully - using the same program and process as for the usual nano firmware. The good news is that the 'volume' of the clicking BETWEEN changes in DSD formats is much reduced. Unfortunately the volume of the clicking between changes in PCM formats and between PCM and DSD formats was not. Perhaps there is a ray of light that further improvements might come available in future firmware. So far the folks at iFi haven't given any indication that there will be. They also offered a newer driver. It didn't alter the clicking as far as I can tell.

So, after a month of to-ing and fro-ing it tuns out - yes, a click between mode changes is an inherent part of the product. Perhaps the Nano is a bit too 'consumer-level' for this forum as no other owners have happened along. Apart from the clicking I find this to be a great sounding product. I don't have another DAC to compare it with to decide if the design compromise has merit.

Yes, I did the firmware update a couple of days after it arrived.

Perhaps that is indeed what the internal DAC is doing if that is the norm for such components. The "Play silence" and "Prebuffering" have been part of my testing, and also were suggestions from iFi. But even if I set both to their maximum values I get the clicking immediately upon Mode switch followed by several seconds of silence before the music starts. If I set them to minimum value (None and 2 respectively) I get the click but no delay. I have also tested on two different computers (my desktop and laptop) with a couple of different USB cables, with different players (JRiver and Foobar2000) as well as altering settings. Both of the computers run Windows 8.1.

But the first three formats which do play through the internal DAC without any clicking are all PCM, at 48, 96 and 192 MHz.

Something I don’t understand is why the Nano makes the clicking noises but the computer’s internal DAC doesn’t. Perhaps there is a clue to be gleaned? For testing purposes I have now established a directory with seven recordings; one for each of the Modes that the Nano supports, being from 48MHz up to quad DSD (DSD256). When I play them through JRiver as a playlist there is audible clicking between each track, in sync with the Nano’s LED changing colour as noted above. There is even clicking between the three different DSD formats. If I simply change the output device to the default audio (being the computer’s internal DAC on the motherboard) and swap the headphones to the socket on the computer case (front or rear) there is NO clicking sound between the changes of track. On the fourth track (352.8MHz) JRiver reports that the device can’t handle the format and offers to convert output – so this would seem to imply that the first three are being handled by the internal DAC at their corresponding frequencies.

When I first contacted iFi asking for suggestions on how to setup the nano their original suggestion (among many others in their PDFs) was to use DOP and Bitstreaming. That is probably when the loud clicking first came up and, in turn, made me aware of all of the situations where clicking occurs. That started the dialogue with iFi around the clicking and an exchange on recommended or potential settings. Like you I found that by NOT using DOP the volume of the clicking was reduced, and I reported this to iFi. I am using the ASIO driver. If have tried the "Play silence..' setting at none, 1 and 4 seconds without any apparent impact. Perhaps this doesn't play any silence when it is simply changing track. For me the 'annoying' clicks are when I have a playlist of different formats (Modes to the Nano) and there are clicks between track changes (and Nano LED colour change). Thank you for taking the time to undertake those tests. Hopefully someone with a Nano will also come along and state what their experience has been.

Any suggestions on which one - one without the clicking problem - at a moderate price? This was my first foray in to external DACs. From all of the glowing reports on the Internet, including on this website, I wasn't expecting such a problem to manifest. I am now VERY reticent to buy another device for fear that they may be other issues I'm unaware of that might need to be addressed.

Does that "mechanical click of the mute relays" result in any clicking coming through the headphones/speakers? Perhaps that is what is happening inside the Nano?

Yes, I have had a support ticket open with iFi for several days. I find it quite hard to get direct answers from them - or at least to have any structure in the responses. But, overnight, I have received another response from them and they include this comment: "soft clicking is normal and it will appear in all products." This would seem to imply that the Nano can't be fixed. But, it similarly implies that the Micro couldn't be fixed, which is at odds with your comment above. I'm really at my wits end with this product. As a consumer I think I will just have to mark it down as a fundamentally flawed product and that maybe the joke was on me for buying online something I hadn't first seen and tested. Caveat Emptor?

I know that there have been various discussions about noises with DACs, but am wondering if anyone has come across a fix to an issue with DSD/SACD content. When my DAC switches into or out of DSD modes there is reasonably loud double click that comes through the headphones. I don’t know if this is a general issue that the industry hasn’t worked out how to resolve or whether it only happens with some DACs. To me it seems like a ‘fault’ that could be (should be) able to be fixed. I have tried a number of settings in both JRiver and Foobar2000 but haven’t found one that eliminates the noises. The best ‘work-around’ so far seems to be to force the DAC to process all music as DSD content by making the player software convert all non-DSD content to DSD on-the-fly. There is still a double click present but it is much quieter. My DAC is the iFi Nano iDSD. It has an LED that changes colour to denote the format of music/data being processed and I can hear the double-click sounds occurring in sync with the colour of the LED changing. There is a clicking sound whenever it changes colour, but the clicking is louder with DSD. This happens when using either ASIO or WASAPI processing and with either JRiver or Foobar2000. I generally play music in a jukebox (randomised) order and so, given my range of music formats, this clicking can occur after almost every change of track. There are no noise-related problems during play. I can watch an entire movie without issue or a series of SACD ISO files. Has anyone experienced similar problems with the same model DAC or other DACs? If so, was there a way to stop the clicking sounds?