[morganc]

Hey guys,
    I need your help......I noticed last night that I lost about 80% of the volume out of my left speaker.   My system is a
2010 Mac Mini
Tranquility DAC
Modwright Pre 9.0
Pass XA30.5 and Art Audio PX 25 Amps
Zu Omen Defs. 
     I have determined that it is not the speaker, the speaker cables, the interconnects, the USB cable, or either amplifier by doing the following:
1.   Exchanging the speaker cables and the loss then went to the right speaker.
2.   I took out the Pre and went atraight through the amp  and no change.
3.   I exchanged DAC's and thought the problem was solved ( only listened for a second and maybe I was just mistaken), because I left it running and came back a few hours later and again 80% less on the left.
4.   I re-started the Mac Mini and no chang
5.   I exchanged all of the cables and no change.
6.  I then put my Oppo in directly into the amp and problem solved!  Perfect output into both speakers. 
7.  I checked the balance  in the mac mini and it is of course balanced.

So it must be the Mac Mini correct?  How to prove this?  I put headphones on throught the headphone jack and it sounded equal in both ears.

I changed the USB slot in the Mac mini I was using and no change. 

Any thoughts or ideas?   BTW it happens whether I am running a Cd in the mac mini or if it is off the External HD. 

I have an Apple appt in the AM, but how do I convince them that thisnis the problem?

Thanks so much guys. Any and all thoughts are appreciated. 
Morgan

[highfilter]

3.   I exchanged DAC's and thought the problem was solved ( only listened for a second and maybe I was just mistaken), because I left it running and came back a few hours later and again 80% less on the left.

What DAC did you exchange it for and try? Have you tried using the built-in audio on the Mac Mini without an external DAC to see if you still hear the imbalance?

I've had a similar issue and it turned out to be the Tranquility SE DAC. I had to get a replacement. The issue from mine was straight from shipping though, it never just started happening. If it's only happening with the Tranquility DAC, give a Eric a call. He'll sort it out.

[low.pfile]

did you check the Audio MIDI Setup? it is located in Applications > Utilities. maybe it was changed (somehow)?

There are output levels for my USB DAC. with Toslink out connections the levels are not adjustable.



and by "Exchanged DACs" did you use a different DAC of the same model or a different DAC altogether? oh wait I see that highfilter asked the same question.

[morganc]

I exchanged the Tranquility Sig with the standard Tranquility.  Eric thought is was the DAC also and has offered a replacement.....but two at the same time?

What DAC did you exchange it for and try? Have you tried using the built-in audio on the Mac Mini without an external DAC to see if you still hear the imbalance?

I've had a similar issue and it turned out to be the Tranquility SE DAC. I had to get a replacement. The issue from mine was straight from shipping though, it never just started happening. If it's only happening with the Tranquility DAC, give a Eric a call. He'll sort it out.

[morganc]

I just checked this and it looks identical to your screen shot. 

I have been running this sytem for months now except for the recent upgrade to the Tranquility Sig a few weeks ago.   Yesterday I had a friend over, we moved a few cables around and hooked up his receiver to see how it would sound with the Zus and that is when we first noticed it. 

did you check the Audio MIDI Setup? it is located in Applications > Utilities. maybe it was changed (somehow)?

There are output levels for my USB DAC. with Toslink out connections the levels are not adjustable.



and by "Exchanged DACs" did you use a different DAC of the same model or a different DAC altogether? oh wait I see that highfilter asked the same question.

[highfilter]

I exchanged the Tranquility Sig with the standard Tranquility.  Eric thought is was the DAC also and has offered a replacement.....but two at the same time?

Is the shipping far? I live in Canada and it took two replacements for me to get a working Tranquility SE DAC. The issue seemed to be in shipping and weather changes affecting the electrical balance in their output stage during shipping. Eric was great help and very willing to accommodate.

When I got the working DAC, it has been working flawlessly.

This sounds like the same issue I was having.

[morganc]

Eric has been amazing to work with.  He has a new one already on the way in the morning.   But I have had the original Tranquility for 6 months without an issue......and I was just getting ready to ship it out as it sold, but now feel sorta stuck in the middle and don't want to ship it if I cannot guarantee it. 

When i listen to the internal Mac Mini speakers, it sounds equal, but Im not sure that is of much use. 

What else can I do?

[highfilter]

Eric has been amazing to work with.  He has a new one already on the way in the morning.   But I have had the original Tranquility for 6 months without an issue......and I was just getting ready to ship it out as it sold, but now feel sorta stuck in the middle and don't want to ship it if I cannot guarantee it. 

When i listen to the internal Mac Mini speakers, it sounds equal, but Im not sure that is of much use. 

What else can I do?

I believe the Tranquility SE uses a different / upgraded output stage compared to the Tranquility, so I am not sure if it has the same possible issues when shipping. Maybe give Eric a call and check. Eric mentioned this in one of the e-mails to me: "We use a unique output stage that is a bit more delicate than cheap and dirty op amps but it also sounds more delicate and sophisticated."

I haven't heard the original Tranquility, but the Tranquility SE is a truly great sounding DAC and is one of my shining stars in my system. Eric stands behind his stuff 100% and won't accept nothing but the best for his customers - so I'd hold in there.

[morganc]

You are absolutely right, Eric is one of the guys in this business that I love to deal with.   I have learned in life and in business to only work with people who give good customer service, great products, and are honest.   Eric is one of those people, as is Dave at PI Audio, as are the owners and staff at Zu.   I think that putting my money in their hands is good for the Audio business and our economy. 

[highfilter]

+1 for Dave and Eric. I value them very much as true professionals in this industry, and people in general. Which is rare.

Hope you get this up and running soon.

[morganc]

I just had a epiphany and realized I have Itunes on my laptop.   I plugged it into the DAC and the problem is the same...so despite all odds, must be the DAC.  Everything else has been eliminated.

[viggen]

Did you cross the interconnect between dac and preamp? If right speaker's volume is then affected, then I'd say the problem exists upstream.

[morganc]

Did you cross the interconnect between dac and preamp? If right speaker's volume is then affected, then I'd say the problem exists upstream.

I removed the pre as my amp has a passive controller.   Also the problem resolved when I put a CD player in as the source using the amp and the pre and all of the interconnects. 

[timind]

did you check the Audio MIDI Setup? it is located in Applications > Utilities. maybe it was changed (somehow)?

There are output levels for my USB DAC. with Toslink out connections the levels are not adjustable.



and by "Exchanged DACs" did you use a different DAC of the same model or a different DAC altogether? oh wait I see that highfilter asked the same question.

Question concerning these settings. My Mac Mini was set to 2ch-24bit instead of 16 bit as your screen shot shows. Which would be preferred? Thanks.

[morganc]

Question concerning these settings. My Mac Mini was set to 2ch-24bit instead of 16 bit as your screen shot shows. Which would be preferred? Thanks.

I had the same question......as well as the choice just to the left of that with the 44100.0 hz......any experts out there?

[Crimson]

If you're only using iTunes, you must set it to match the source material i.e. if you're playing a file that was ripped to 16/44.1 then you need to make sure AudioMidi is set to the same thing: 441000 and 2-channel 16 bit, otherwise it will resample.

[timind]

Well I ripped all of my cds in AIFF at the standard setting so I'll go that route. Thanks.

[morganc]

Looks like it was something with the Pre that blew out the DAC's......wish me luck