Got the ART DIO

Xi-Trum · « **on:** 5 Apr 2003, 01:26 pm »

I ordered an ART DIO from Full Compass to be sent to Wayne for modding. Somehow, it showed up at my door yesterday.

Looks like I have to send it Wayne myself.

Just wondering, what kind of cable does the stock DIO take at its output? Maybe I can play with this thing while Wayne is busy with the MAF.

Marbles · « **Reply #1 on:** 5 Apr 2003, 01:29 pm »

snip..edited for stupidity on my part

Wayne1 · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 Apr 2003, 04:17 pm »

Dan,

The ART takes 1/4" male phone plugs for the audio outs. You can pick up some adaptors at Rat Shack fairly cheap, to play with it. With your Bent, you should not have too much trouble with the high 7 VAC output. The only other thing you would need is a digital cable from your CD-1 to the ART.

Let me know if you like the output level where it is at . I can change the resistors to leave the output level the same or reduce it.

I am leaving Wednesday for Ohio and I won'y be back for work untill Tuesday the 15th.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Apr 2003, 08:24 pm »

Thank you, Wayne. I know you're pretty tied up with this MAF.

I'll ship out the ART DIO some time next week. It should get to you the week after at the latest. I'll hang on to the stock power supply as I'm getting the "real" one from you. In the mean time, I'll play around with this stock DIO to see how "bad" it is.

Hey, the modded ones would have the RCA outputs, right? I saw Kishore's smART DIO and the input and output connectors are all RCA.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Apr 2003, 03:18 pm »

Well, I finally got the phone plugs to try the DI/O. Along with the music, there's a LOUD scratching/static noise coming out of the left channel. I'm sending it back to Full Compass. Will get a replacement in about two weeks.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Apr 2003, 03:28 pm »

Hold everything Dan,

What sampling rate are you using?

If it is anything other than ext., 44.1 or 88.2, this noise is normal.

You do need to connect the digital cable to the DI/O first, then plug in the power cable. Set the sampling rate to ext. The little green light should blink for a short while and then lock onto the sync signal. Then you should hear the music. The DI/O is NOT an upsampler. DO NOT use it on 96 or 48 khz settings. Let it get it's signal from the clock of the transport.

I sent you an e-mail. I have a spot open for mods if you are ready to do it.

doug s. · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Apr 2003, 03:28 pm »

xi,

if it's a bone-stock di/o, it's likely there's nuttin' wrong w/it - it's prolly the 7v output overloading yer preamp... one channel can be more susceptible than the other...

doug s.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Apr 2003, 03:40 pm »

Thanks for the tips, guys.

Quote from: Wayne1

You do need to connect the digital cable to the DI/O first, then plug in the power cable.

Check!

Quote from: Wayne1

Set the sampling rate to ext. The little green light should blink for a short while and then lock onto the sync signal.

There's a little button on the left side with 3 LEDs on top.

Top LED is RED and is labeled 48KHz - 96 KHz (if I remember right)
Middle LED ORANGE and is labeled: 1x - 2x (what the hell does that mean?)
Bottom LED is GREEN

The RED and ORANGE LEDs are ON.

Quote from: Wayne1

Then you should hear the music. The DI/O is NOT an upsampler. DO NOT use it on 96 or 48 khz settings. Let it get it's signal from the clock of the transport.

I do hear music. I just get static noise intermix with the music.

I didn't touch anything. Just plugged and played. Ok, what did I do wrong?

Thanks!

Wayne1 · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Apr 2003, 04:08 pm »

Okay Dan,

You did not do anything wrong. The DI/O comes from the factory set up that way. All you have to do is push the little button to the right of the three LEDs. Each time you push it it will light up some different LEDs.

Right now you are in the 96 khz internal sampling rate mode. That is what is causing the noise.

Push the button once and it will change to a blinking green light. That is ext. sync. If it does not change to to a solid green light by itself, unplug the power supply from the back of the DI/O and wait for the green light on top of the case to go completely out. Then plug it back in.

All of the lights on the front of the DI/Owill blink on for a moment and then the green light will blink for a few seconds and then settle down to a solid green glow. You should then hear the music without any distortion.

You can play around with the different sample rates but you may find the need to reset the DI/O every now and again by unplugging and plugging it back in again. I personally just like to use the ext. sync setting.

Even the stock DI/O takes about 150 hours of constant use for the caps to form. The sound getts better as time on the DI/O increases. The break-in time is even worse on the modded unit.

doug s. · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Apr 2003, 04:12 pm »

xi,

all i remember (i'm at work now), is the green light - cuz this is what *i* use!

it's the external sync setting. ya can figure out the others from the li'l dot-dwgs on the top of the case - the solid dot means *that* one is on. "2x" means 88.2khz. anyway, push the button until only the green light is on - the ext-sync setting will work w/any input from 32khz to 100khz input. if the noise goes away, then, per wayne, yer prior setting was wrong. if the noise *doesn't* go away, then yure overloading the preamp w/a lot of gain...

hth,

doug s.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Apr 2003, 11:45 am »

Ok, I pushed that little button until the green LED blinks quickly and settled into a solid green. The scratching noise went away. It's replaced with a high frequency hiss in BOTH channels.

It's the type of noise that pierce your ears.

Ideas? Or should I really send this one back.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Apr 2003, 01:01 pm »

Okay Dan,

Now all you need to do is to reset the DI/O. Just unplug the power from the DI/O, wait for the green light on the top to go completely out and then plug it back in. Do this whil you have a disc spinning on your transport.

It should come back on with no noise or hiss. Just music.

Good Luck.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 Apr 2003, 12:20 pm »

Wayne, you're a genius. Everything is working nicely now. Cool!

Now, I don't remember Kishore's smART DIO having this sort of problem. Is it isolated to stock DIO? Thanks.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 Apr 2003, 02:30 pm »

I am glad it is working for you, Dan. Having modded over 200 DI/Os, you do get used to the more common problems and operator errors.

All of the DI/Os will have a small problem with syncing. A lot depends on what transport is being used. As part of the mod to the smART and above, I do change the timing in the sync circuit slightly to help out a bit with this issue.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #14 on:** 21 Apr 2003, 12:18 pm »

Ok, there's another twist in this saga. I tossed in a DVD and there's no music at all. Instead there's a very loud continuous rattling sound coming out of both channels. I tried various things for a while to no avail.

I was perplexed that it was working before. Then it hit me. I had used a music CD before. This time, it's a music DVD. Could this thing be source dependent? So, I tossed back in a CD. Everything was back to normal with music playing. Swap it with a DVD and the rattling noise came back. Tried several DVDs and the same thing happened.

Anyone having the same problem? The whole reason I'm getting the ART is to improve the DVD sound. And it looks like I can't use it for that specific purpose. I wonder if the ART I have is flaky or the problem is with the transport. (I may try a different DVD transport) If I can't solve this, then looks like the ART will be for sale. I'm sorry, Wayne.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 Apr 2003, 12:46 pm »

Dan,

The ART DI/O only works for CD's. It does not have any Dolby Digital or DBX decoding. It will not help you with DVDs. I do not believe anyone here has ever stated it will.

I am not aware of ANY D/A convertor that will work for CDs and DVDs.

People that use a DVD player with the ART tend to use the optical output of the DVD player to their preamp/processor for DVDs and the coaxial output to the ART for CDs and then to a discreet input on a preamp.

The ART DI/O IS NOT DESIGNED TO DECODE DVDS ONLY CDS. It is a completely different format.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Apr 2003, 01:22 pm »

Ouch!!!

Thanks, Wayne.

Xi-Trum · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 Apr 2003, 01:45 pm »

Wayne, what are the other stereo inputs (phone plug in)on the DIO for? Thanks.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 Apr 2003, 02:31 pm »

The ART DI/O is designed to be used as an analog to digital AND a digital to analog convertor for Pro Audio use. You could take an analog source and plug it into the input, convert it to digital at your choice of frequency and sampling rate and output digital to record on a CD or a hard drive. Some folks like to use this feature to loop the digital out to digital in so you can "add" some "tube warmth" to the sound.

As part of the mods I do, I remove just about everything associated with the analog to digital section and concentrate on the digital to analog parts. As with most inexpensive audio gear, the power supply sections are somewhat under spec'ed, in my view. By removing the a to d stuff, there is more current to go to the more important parts of the circuit, IMHO.

rollo · « **Reply #19 on:** 22 Mar 2010, 05:43 pm »

We compared the new Oppo SE player against the modded Art DIO at our Audio Syndrome club meeting. No contest the Bolder modded unit was better all around. First time hearing your work. Very impressive work and most important SOUND in spades.
My advice if you have an Art DI/O send it to Wayne. Before you spend money elsewhere. It is that good.

charles