Audirvana Plus + Teac UD-301

[DiegoT]

Hello folks, this is my first post around here. I am new to computer audio. Recently I put together this desktop system:

 

- Macbook Pro Retina (Late 2013) >> Audirvana Plus 2 >> AudioQuest Pearl USB cable >> DAC TEAC UD-301 >> XLR cables >> Active Speakers JBL LSR305.

 

I am pretty happy with it, since I used to listen to music in cheap earbuds, and now, with less than 600 bucks, my experience have changed so much! I have a few questions for the community:

 

1) I am using my DAC to control the volume, but in the transport area on Audirvana I can't see the volume knob representation. Is this normal with the TEAC?

 

2) I use macOS Sierra 10.12.1 in my MBP, and when I try to enable Direct Mode plus Integer Mode, there is an error when trying to playback music. Just Integer Mode enabled is fine, no problem. Is this normal?

 

3) Will I have an audible improvement by upsampling Tidal 16/44.1Khz music to 176.4Khz using the Teac feature? Or should I do it within the Audirvana Plus software? Or not at all?

 

4) Lastly, what setting tweaks do you recommend on A+ for my hardware configuration?

 

Thank you for all the useful info I got from this community already!

 

Diego

[wwaldmanfan]

Hello folks, this is my first post around here. I am new to computer audio. Recently I put together this desktop system:

 

- Macbook Pro Retina (Late 2013) >> Audirvana Plus 2 >> AudioQuest Pearl USB cable >> DAC TEAC UD-301 >> XLR cables >> Active Speakers JBL LSR305.

 

I am pretty happy with it, since I used to listen to music in cheap earbuds, and now, with less than 600 bucks, my experience have changed so much! I have a few questions for the community:

 

1) I am using my DAC to control the volume, but in the transport area on Audirvana I can't see the volume knob representation. Is this normal with the TEAC?

 

2) I use macOS Sierra 10.12.1 in my MBP, and when I try to enable Direct Mode plus Integer Mode, there is an error when trying to playback music. Just Integer Mode enabled is fine, no problem. Is this normal?

 

3) Will I have an audible improvement by upsampling Tidal 16/44.1Khz music to 176.4Khz using the Teac feature? Or should I do it within the Audirvana Plus software? Or not at all?

 

4) Lastly, what setting tweaks do you recommend on A+ for my hardware configuration?

 

Thank you for all the useful info I got from this community already!

 

Diego

Welcome to CA. There is a lot to be learned here. Although I am not one of the smarter folks on this forum, I think I can answer your questions.

 

1. In Audirvana's Audio Volume prefs, you select either a) DAC only, b) DAC, if available, else software, or c) Software only. If you select DAC only, the volume slider will not appear in the GUI, so you use the DAC's volume knob. In this case, Audirvana's default volume should be set at 0dB. If you select b), you have both options, and the volume slider will be visible. c) is self-explainatory. a) is the best method, if you DAC allows.

 

2. OSX Sierra has a bug which does not allow Direct Mode with Audirvana 2. Damien Plisson, the creator of Audirvana, is working on a fix.

 

3.This is something you should experiment with. Your own ears will reveal the best method. It is nice that the Teac offers you the option of upsampling or NOS mode.

 

4. Keep it simple. Audirvana is the most feature-laden and best-sounding Mac music player, IMO, but uncheck everything you don't need or use. Less is more.

[DiegoT]

I think this clarifies my doubts! As always, to keep it simple is the way.

 

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile