Any other DACs "click" like a Schiit Bifrost?

the clicking between sample rates is a mechanical relay throwing in most cases. my Denon DVD-9000 did this. each different sample rate has a different clocking setup (i think), and so some switching has to occur in the DAC circuit. depending on who you talk to, relay switching is sonically preferable to IC or transistor switching (i believe the Schiit website mentions this), even though the latter are mechanically quiet. my Accuphase integrated does all source switching, as well as some other settings, via relays too -- in that case it's to shorten signal paths and keep them freer of distortion.

you can also sometimes get relay clicking when playing back dirty or scratched CD's or otherwise error-ridden files. i've had this happen a couple times, IIRC, though it could have been relays inside the transport section... at any rate, if your DAC is clicking regularly during playback, that is a glitch in the relay control circuitry, and you should get it fixed. if it's clicking between back-to-back Redbook tracks (or high-rez tracks of the same rate), that's annoying, but it could be a design choice.

the white boxes are the signal relays:
R41DPDT-900.jpg


EDIT: i should clarify that these relay noises are for the most part purely mechanical, emanating from the Denon's DAC section. there might be a slight audible thump or click in the signal, but i've never really noticed it. if you're hearing a lot of noise through your speakers when the Bifrost relays activate, that's probably a sign of a less than perfect implementation.



Not sure about the OP, but the clicking I would hear (with the HRT MSII) was when I was still using Foobar. I love Foobar, but I was having a problem getting the WASAPI plug-in to work right. I could get it dialed-in to work with hi-res 24/96 (by lowering the buffering rate and and messing with a few other settings), but then I'd go to play a redbook file, and I'd get the clicking sound. Same thing would happen if I got it dialed-in-enough to play redbook stuff. I could get either, but not at the same time, or it would make that nonstop clicking sound. So, I switched to the Virtual Audio Cable plug-in and used VLC media-player because it was plug-&-play with V.A.C (not so with Foobar, sadly... I'm still trying to get it to work because I miss Foobar... VLC uses more CPU-power than I'd like because it runs independently as far as I know...Foobar uses less CPU/RAM than any player out there, and yet it's one of the most-powerful.... That said, I am getting great results from the V.A.C. plug-in. Not only did it do away with the clicking (for both redbook AND hi-res), it seemed to do a better job on my computer than WASAPI. Like a veil was lifted. Maybe it just happens to work really-well on my kind of setup.

*EDIT* - Just to reiterate what I was saying about VLC drawing a lot of power, I just checked my task-manager, and VLC is drawing about 25,000-28,000K right now while playing a 24/96 vinyl-rip. That's about 7,000K-10,000K higher than Foobar would draw. My computer is just an entry-level Compaq laptop, so it's not very-powerful, and that's why I've had to do a lot of sidestepping and modifying to get it to work as the brain of a computer-based stereo system. The clicking I was experiencing seemed to be the fault of my laptop's modest capability, best I can tell, rather than the fault of my DAC.
 
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So it seems to me that the Bifrost (as well as others) only click excessively when using the USB interface? If so, many USB problems emanate from low voltage on the USB port - especially when non-powered hubs are used.
I only use the optical interface and the Bifrost is connected to the Sonos ZP90. Much of the material I play has differing sample rates, but it has never clicked between tracks. Only when powering on or off, which is expected and perfectly acceptable.
 
My Grant Fidelity DAC09 makes a noise that is transmitted through the speakers any time the sampling rate changes. My Simuadio 100D is quiet as a mouse.
 
So it seems to me that the Bifrost (as well as others) only click excessively when using the USB interface? If so, many USB problems emanate from low voltage on the USB port - especially when non-powered hubs are used.
I only use the optical interface and the Bifrost is connected to the Sonos ZP90. Much of the material I play has differing sample rates, but it has never clicked between tracks. Only when powering on or off, which is expected and perfectly acceptable.

That makes sense... USB is not exactly the most-problem-free transfer method.

With my setup, my dac was never the problem. It was my computer. But I didn't realize that some dacs click like that whenever there's a sample-rate change.
 
That is an issue with the DAC design.
Any serious DAC will have muting transistors at the output (or relays in the higher-end DAC's) to cut out any click's in between the digital transitions.
Some manufacturers decided to take a short-cut and eliminate those.
 
That is an issue with the DAC design.
Any serious DAC will have muting transistors at the output (or relays in the higher-end DAC's) to cut out any click's in between the digital transitions.
Some manufacturers decided to take a short-cut and eliminate those.

To clarify my earlier post (# 18), when I said the Bifrost 'clicks' between sample rates, I meant the relays within the DAC itself. There is no noise in the signal path. Sorry if I confused the issue.
 
I used to have a California Audio Lab tube DAC that would click like crazy when there is a signal it can not lock to like DTS or multichannel by accident.
Your sounds normal for that design. Some of my SS amps have several clicks from relays during warmup.
 
Mac mini, AQ dragonfly 1.0, 1.2 and NAD d1050 via USB to DAC then analog to preamp with zero clicking at all. Audivarna is my software interface.
 
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That is an issue with the DAC design.
Any serious DAC will have muting transistors at the output (or relays in the higher-end DAC's) to cut out any click's in between the digital transitions.
Some manufacturers decided to take a short-cut and eliminate those.

Definitely.

There should never be any clicks for any reason in a well engineered DAC device. A DAC should be totally invisible in the signal path.

The ODAC that I'm using is perfectly silent when transitioning from one sample rate to another. I've tested this using iTunes with Bitperfect as well as a Linux based bit perfect audio player.
 
Like others have already stated, the Bifrost I own makes a slight clicking noise when powered up. I don't understand how that's an issue. For me at least, the sound is no more "infuriating" that the click of a protection relay in an amplifier.

What I find most relevant is unit performance...the dead silence during playback between instrument breaks and between tracks is much more telling than a tiny click sound at power-up.

Made in America by American workers, quality that matches or exceeds DAC's made in Asia costing many times more than the Schiit. Unbeatable warranty and upgradable chassis..I'll never buy another DAC.
 
I read tonight somewhere that cd player mutes output and Bifrost weirds out. I cut my muting transistors out, maybe a good thing.
 
I read tonight somewhere that cd player mutes output and Bifrost weirds out. I cut my muting transistors out, maybe a good thing.

I have been using a Bifrost for several years connected to a Sonos Connect for streaming music. It NEVER clicks, unless I change inputs. If you have a source that is constantly changing bitrate, then yes, you will probably get clicks - but to me, that means there is something else amiss in your signal chain.
 
My Maverick TubeMagic will give me a pretty decent "thonk" when the HTPC finds it on boot up if I'm dumb enough to have the amps on when that happens. Ditto on shutdown, but that's not the DAC, it's the computer.

I imagine that's pretty common ... ain't losing any sleep over it anyway.

And ya, pretty sure they all give you a relay click on startup ... no different than a receiver's protection going green.
 
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