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Digital Output's NOT turning off! How work with Auto Switching DAC's?


hionhifi

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Hi guys,

I have an old MSB Link DAC III that I want to press into service. The problem is the Link DAC auto switch’s inputs, but my Squeezebox Touch doesn’t turn off its digital output…Anytime (unless it’s unplugged of course!). The Link DAC can’t lock onto another digital signal. Has anyone ran into this problem and have a solution for this?

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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I had an auto switching digital device where I could set the priority of each input to each other. That usually took care of the odd appliance or two that insisted on remaining on and it would switch to other inputs when they turned on.

 

Hi guys,

I have an old MSB Link DAC III that I want to press into service. The problem is the Link DAC auto switch’s inputs, but my Squeezebox Touch doesn’t turn off its digital output…Anytime (unless it’s unplugged of course!). The Link DAC can’t lock onto another digital signal. Has anyone ran into this problem and have a solution for this?

--

Audio System: Mac Mini (w/Roon) -> USB -> NAD Masters M51 -> Ayre K-5xeMP -> Ayre V-5xe -> Thiel CS3.7's

 

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I had an auto switching digital device where I could set the priority of each input to each other. That usually took care of the odd appliance or two that insisted on remaining on and it would switch to other inputs when they turned on.

That would be nice, but I'm not sure if the MSB has that functionality. I'll have to check this evening when I get home.

 

The cool thing is that the DAC has an analog pass-thru, effectively giving me another input which is nice, but it too works on auto-sensing.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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Yes it is technically possible to disable spdif output of sbt. At least this post O2 Joggler Forum • View topic - 24/96 Squeezeplay and External USB DAC talks about corresponding control (IEC958) which on other soundcards does what you want - turns on/off the SPDIF transmitter (I do not have sbt to verify).

 

If that is the case (following the post it is almost sure), all you need is ssh access to your SBT and call the command (with mute or unmute, to turn off/on respectively).

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Yes it is technically possible to disable spdif output of sbt. At least this post O2 Joggler Forum • View topic - 24/96 Squeezeplay and External USB DAC talks about corresponding control (IEC958) which on other soundcards does what you want - turns on/off the SPDIF transmitter (I do not have sbt to verify).

 

If that is the case (following the post it is almost sure), all you need is ssh access to your SBT and call the command (with mute or unmute, to turn off/on respectively).

Phofman,

I'm not sure I want to tinker around inside the Touch's OS to turn off the digital output every time I want to change inputs. I may may move playback to my PC which is also plugged into the system.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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Honestly, what simplier solution did you expect when you posted your question :) ? The manufacturer did not fit SBT with a push button for this functionality. The next more complicated level is software solution, in this case luckily just a single command. Actually, it could have been much more complicated :)

 

You can run the command at one click from windows, details e.g. How to pass a command script to remote computer over Putty SSH and execute it ?

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  • 3 weeks later...
Honestly, what simplier solution did you expect when you posted your question :) ? The manufacturer did not fit SBT with a push button for this functionality. The next more complicated level is software solution, in this case luckily just a single command. Actually, it could have been much more complicated :)

 

You can run the command at one click from windows, details e.g. How to pass a command script to remote computer over Putty SSH and execute it ?

The simplest solution would be to use a digital switcher preferably with a remote control.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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The simplest solution would be to use a digital switcher preferably with a remote control.

 

 

Then do it, if you have one. I showed you a solution which takes a few minutes to implement. If you took the time to download/run putty and try, you would already have the task solved, long time ago.

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It is probably simpler just to use a software command to turn on or turn off the digital output of your SBT, or even easier, simply turn it off when you don't want to use it.

 

The simplest solution is to use a DAC that does not autoswitch though, which is pretty much almost every DAC out there. Some come with Remote controls to do that.

 

-Paul

 

 

The simplest solution would be to use a digital switcher preferably with a remote control.

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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Then do it, if you have one. I showed you a solution which takes a few minutes to implement. If you took the time to download/run putty and try, you would already have the task solved, long time ago.

I'm not interested in doing that. If it were an applet app or something like that i'd install it but I'm not yet comfortable with fiddling around the Squeezebox's brain. The switcher will work if I need it in the future. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

@Paul

The digital output does NOT turn off when you power off the Squeezebox Touch. It will turn off if you unplug it. I wish it was that easy.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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I'm not interested in doing that. If it were an applet app or something like that i'd install it but I'm not yet comfortable with fiddling around the Squeezebox's brain.

 

In my view it is much safer to do it by myself, especially if it is just a line of code, than to trust some unknown binary application downloaded from internet which can ruin my device.

 

But your solution will certainly work for you well.

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I meant unplug the unit to turn it off, since it does not have an on/off switch.

 

Seriously, you are perhaps over-thinking this. Turning the digital output on and off via software is not difficult, and exactly solves your need.

 

By the way, you know the SBT OS is read/only right? You can reset the thing to factory standard anytime you want to, and as many times as you wish.

 

Check out this site for a lot of cool information, and trust me, it is *easy* and does make a lot of difference in the sound. :)

 

soundcheck's - audio@vise: Touch Toolbox 3.0

 

-Paul

 

I'm not interested in doing that. If it were an applet app or something like that i'd install it but I'm not yet comfortable with fiddling around the Squeezebox's brain. The switcher will work if I need it in the future. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

@Paul

The digital output does NOT turn off when you power off the Squeezebox Touch. It will turn off if you unplug it. I wish it was that easy.

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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I meant unplug the unit to turn it off, since it does not have an on/off switch.

 

Seriously, you are perhaps over-thinking this. Turning the digital output on and off via software is not difficult, and exactly solves your need.

 

By the way, you know the SBT OS is read/only right? You can reset the thing to factory standard anytime you want to, and as many times as you wish.

 

Check out this site for a lot of cool information, and trust me, it is *easy* and does make a lot of difference in the sound. :)

 

soundcheck's - audio@vise: Touch Toolbox 3.0

-Paul

Paul,

I may give the Soundcheck mods another look. I've read about them before and even looked into modding my unit. I didn't proceed at the time because I wasn't compelled by any objective evidence that they made the Squeezebox Touch sound "better." I've read alot of stuff, alot of it positive, but not much in the way of objective testing to see if people would reliably choose the modded Squeezebox Touch over a stock Squeezebox Touch.

 

Even though I'd like the objective info, the mod looks easy enough to implement and hear for myself. I'll check it out.

 

The Squeezebox Touch does have an on/off power button. Unplugging isn't a viable option. Call me wanting a more elegant solution. The Soundcheck mods might give me the comfort to fiddle around inside the unit brain and install the code to turn off the digital output. Though, the thread referring to turning off the digital output doesn't list the full code to implement. I could be wrong, but it didn't seem complete.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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It's there - you can turn off the digital outputs anytime with one command. Not difficult at all. "tt -o 1" sets analog only output, "tt -o 0" sets digital only output.

That's the whole thing.

 

Not as convenient as a remote control for a DAC, but, it works.

 

-Paul

 

 

Paul,

I may give the Soundcheck mods another look. I've read about them before and even looked into modding my unit. I didn't proceed at the time because I wasn't compelled by any objective evidence that they made the Squeezebox Touch sound "better." I've read alot of stuff, alot of it positive, but not much in the way of objective testing to see if people would reliably choose the modded Squeezebox Touch over a stock Squeezebox Touch.

 

Even though I'd like the objective info, the mod looks easy enough to implement and hear for myself. I'll check it out.

 

The Squeezebox Touch does have an on/off power button. Unplugging isn't a viable option. Call me wanting a more elegant solution. The Soundcheck mods might give me the comfort to fiddle around inside the unit brain and install the code to turn off the digital output. Though, the thread referring to turning off the digital output doesn't list the full code to implement. I could be wrong, but it didn't seem complete.

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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It's there - you can turn off the digital outputs anytime with one command. Not difficult at all. "tt -o 1" sets analog only output, "tt -o 0" sets digital only output.

That's the whole thing.

 

Quick look at the toolbox shows this script does not disable the SPDIF output. The function output() just reconfigures alsa output of the jive player (hw:0, hw:1) and restarts it. It does nothing to the actual soundcard configuration. The SPDIF output will be kept active,just with no audio samples being played.

 

The correct commands are (most likely, I do not have the device available to test):

 

Disable SPDIF output:

amixer -q -c 0 sset 'IEC958',0 mute

 

Enable SPDIF output:

 amixer -q -c 0 sset 'IEC958',0 unmute

 

These commands change value of the "IEC958 Playback Switch" which on soundcards I have got to play with disables/enables the SPDIF output. Card 0 should be the SPDIF transmitter.

 

The commands can be called directly from the PC using e.g. ExtraPuTTY | Fork of PuTTY .

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Oh, you are probably right, though I distinctly remember it turning off the optical output at least. (Red light went out.)

I'll check it when I get home, but most likely you are correct.

 

-Paul

 

 

Quick look at the toolbox shows this script does not disable the SPDIF output. The function output() just reconfigures alsa output of the jive player (hw:0, hw:1) and restarts it. It does nothing to the actual soundcard configuration. The SPDIF output will be kept active,just with no audio samples being played.

 

The correct commands are (most likely, I do not have the device available to test):

 

Disable SPDIF output:

amixer -q -c 0 sset 'IEC958',0 mute

 

Enable SPDIF output:

 amixer -q -c 0 sset 'IEC958',0 unmute

 

These commands change value of the "IEC958 Playback Switch" which on soundcards I have got to play with disables/enables the SPDIF output. Card 0 should be the SPDIF transmitter.

 

The commands can be called directly from the PC using e.g. ExtraPuTTY | Fork of PuTTY .

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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...Check out this site for a lot of cool information, and trust me, it is *easy* and does make a lot of difference in the sound. :)

soundcheck's - audio@vise: Touch Toolbox 3.0

-Paul

Ok, I installed the Soundcheck Touch Toolbox 3.0 mods last night. I listened for a minute, but not long enough to notice a difference that I could comment on. I'll listen some more tonight and over the coming days.

 

Thinking back on it now, I tried to install these mod way back when but got hung up somewhere in the process so I ceased tinkering. That was then, this is now and I got it installed yesterday.

 

The only thing that didn't go as planned was I never could get the Alsa buffer size to change. It's set to 20000us, but Soundcheck advises 4000us and he uses 3400us. I could execute the command and the Squeezebox rebooted, but upon inspection (tt -s) it still shows the Alsa buffer size at 20000us. I do have the Triode 24/192 EDO installed, wonder if this has anything to do with it? I'll have to google it.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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And did the spdif on/off command work correctly?

I didn't try it yet. Like I said I don't have a need for that function currently, however it may be helpful in the future. I'll check it out this evening probably. I'd be interested to see if it works.

Thomas Turner

 

SPEAKERS - Snell Type C/V | PREAMP/DAC -  Project Pre Box S2 Digital  | SOURCE - Auralic Aries Mini | ROOM TREATMENT - LEDE, bass traps @ Rear of room, acoustic panels @ 1st reflections point: side walls | AMPLIFIER - Acurus A100

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