DCS reading problem


I recently aquired a DCS Elgar plus and La Scala. My La Scala seems to have problem reading disc. After many trails and erros, I realise that it could only ready SACD Dics amd had problem reading CDs. Can anyone pls tell me if this is the problem with my player or with my connection?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
KC
kctan
Hi KC,

You need to give us more information on what you mean when you say it won't read CD. Do you mean you don't get sound out from CD or literally that the CD is not read?

Does the La Scala display errors? Do you get the TOC messages when the CD is first loaded? Does the track appear to start when you press Play and the track time display show progress through the track?

The following assumes the CD is at least being read by the transport.

You have a Verdi La Scala and an Elgar Plus. That means you are probably having CD upsampled by the La Scala to DSD sample rate and output across the 1394/Firewire connection. You have sound from your SACDs so we can assume the 1394 connection is functioning and the Elgar Plus is locking to it (you should see "1394" set as the input on the DAC's display).

Are you changing any settings on the DAC when you try to play CD? You shouldn't need to change anything. (However when switching from CD to SACD or vice versa there can sometimes be a delay of a few seconds while the different parts of the system recognize and lock onto the alternate signal.)

Do you have another digital cable between the transport and DAC (on the AES/EBU or RCA digital outputs)? If you do, try removing it so you just have the 1394 and clocking cables.

It is worth checking your clock connections although I would think any problem there would affect both CD and SACD.

dCS recommend that you'll get the best results from having the DAC as the master clock. Go into the DAC menu and set it as "Master". Go into the La Scala menu and set it as the "Slave". Then ensure that the clocking cable runs from the WCLK OUT on the DAC to the WCLK IN on the transport.

Do those checks, provide us with some more information and we'll have a better chance of answering your question.
Hi Gtfour45

Thanks very much your advise.

When I switched from SACD disc to a CD disc, the LaScala responded firstly by showing TOC, after which it show "0", When i pressed the play switch , it show "1" (the first track) After which it just went dead, the display keep showing "1" nothing else, no sound, no mvement of the digital display. After a couple of minutes, the display revert back to "0".

I will try your suggested setting and see if it works.

Thanks again for advise.

Regards,
KC
Hi KC,

The dCS transports are a bit cranky in that they take their sweet time to do things and don't like to be interrupted in the middle of the process. If you do interrupt them, they get sulky and refuse to obey commands until they are rebooted.

I have a Verdi Encore (the later version of the La Scala), so my information may not be accurate for your machine.

When I load a CD I get the TOC message, then an ascending count through the tracks in groups of 5, then a STOPPED message, then the process halts displaying the number of tracks on the CD. Only when all of that is completed can I press Play.

Do a cold start on both the transport and the DAC. Then put in a CD and leave it alone (at least 2 - 5 minutes) until you are sure it has completed everything it wants to do.

Then press Play.

If it doesn't start, post all the messages that were displayed here. If we are lucky a La Scala owner will join in and advise what's normal and what isn't.
Tried all type of connection, waited for more than 10 minutes, nothing happen on the CD portion.

KC