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  3. 132188-81069

Distortion Problem with USB from PC to DAC

Strange distortion problem with USB connect from my PC to my Cambridge DacMagic Plus. When I first attach my USB cable to the DAC, everything sounds great, then after a couple of minutes I get a buzzing sort of distortion in both channels that gradually increases to the point where I stop playback and unplug the USB because I think something could possibly be damaged. I have tried different cables (all cheap), I even tried different PC's, one of them a Laptop thats not connected to wall power, same problem. One thing I noticed is that when I unplug the USB from the DAC, the connector is very warm! I notice the problem mostly listening to my headphone amp. Any ideas? Thanks!

grm
grm
jaybe
740 posts
 
Sounds like you've answered your own question. There's likely a problem with the DAC.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
Agreed.  Likely a short somewhere in the dac that is causing over-voltage and heat.  This is is why the sound distorts after a bit.
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