Wireless DAC/streaming distortion

Hi group,
I have a problem that's arisen: I'm getting distortion from my Audioengine D2 wireless DAC, which streams iTunes and internet radio from my PC. This has just started happening over the past few weeks.

The Audioengine has been great; here's my setup: HP Pavilion PC, Windows 7 64 bit, kept updated...lots of memory. I run the Audioengine off of a Kimber Kable USB cord (run it through USB 2.0 on my PC); I use the latest version of iTunes, although I notice this problem, too, when I switch to Windows Media Player.

I've checked device manager...my audio settings. (My PC, which is older, has a Realtek HD soundcard).

I'm at a loss here. Anybody have any ideas what to do? I highly doubt it's the Audioengine (but I'm not certain); this never happened before (older version of iTunes....) could it be recent Windows updates?

Open to any, and all ideas.
Thanks,
Jeff

strip system down to minimum. Connect pc to amp through headphone jack. Start adding components. Test along the way. Try to isolate problem.

Have you added or moved any other wireless gear? I had problems with my Sonos setup when I added a wireless subwoofer.

Yes, it could be any update made to Windows. Check for any new printer or screen drivers. Any new input devices? Any new appliances in the area between the PC and your speakers? Interference from other electronics is always a possibility.

Good luck.

I haven't added anything; what I did do, upon advice from Audioengine, is remove a wireless mouse from one of my two USB 2.0 ports....the D2 is on the other, and Audioengine support says that could crowd the bandwidth.

In terms of Windows updates...ugh: how do I figure that out? I keep my PC updated; Windows recently released its monthly Tuesday update batch, along with a special security update.

This is most frustrating. Would Windows add new drivers in the update batch that could be interfering?

I do know this does not happen when I run the audio through my computer speakers, so it's something with the wireless setup.

Jeff

Remove the power conditioner and use just a power strip. And don't have Furman pluged in at all.

This is not the only problems I see with conditioners.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=621861

Is it possible a Windows update did it? Yeah, I suppose it can't be ruled out because the cause is currently unknown. But, I doubt it's that, and would be looking more towards hardware.

Any new 2.4 gHz wireless sources been installed in the house or nearby?

Yamaki said:

Any new 2.4 gHz wireless sources been installed in the house or nearby?

Click to expand...

This^
I would look here also new wireless sources, did you move a router, new computer or TV. You also might want to unplug your internet service for testing.

I'd suggest you start your diagnostics at the router. Streaming wirelessly is great, but its not without some potential issues. Here are some options:

1. A reboot of the router - turn it off completely, then turn it back on. Then listen to see if the distortion is still present.

2. Make sure your router is located as centrally as possible in your home. Some folks suggest that "higher is better" when locating your router. The problem with that is that if your router is, for example, on the second floor of your home, but your man cave is in the basement, the man cave isn't going to get the strongest wireless signal possible from your router.

3. Shut off any other devices connected to the router. This includes other PC's, tablets, phones, XBoxes, TV's, etc. Shut them completely off rather than putting them in standby or sleep mode. Listen again. If the distortion is still there, it doesn't rule out the router as the issue, but it just got less likely. If the distortion is gone, turn on the other connected devices one by one, listening again after each device has been turned on to see if the distortion reappears. Many homes have increased the number of wireless devices significantly in the past few years, but haven't updated their wireless router. Like sizing a furnace for a home based on the home's square footage, a wireless router needs to be sized for the load it is asked to carry.

4. Go into your routers settings and see if you have the option to change the channel (frequency) that your router is broadcasting its wireless signal. Your router's instructions should have some detail on how to do this. If you have a dual band router, you might need to change the frequency individually for each band. Why change the channel that your router is broadcasting on? If you live in a subdivision where the houses are close together, or in a condo or apartment, your router's signal could be overlapping or conflicting with a the signal from a neighbor's router. The router signal might also be compromised by RF from things like microwaves or cordless phones, particularly if the router is an older model. Once this is done, listen again and see if there is any distortion.

While you're in there, you might try setting your router to broadcast each band (the 2.4 ghz and the 5 ghz bands) using unique SSID identifiers. On my set up, I have a dual band router that broadcasts the 2.4 ghz signal on one SSID named "whell", and the 5ghz channel on another SSID named "whell5ghz". This allows you to connect your gear to the wireless network that suits that gear the best. For instance, I have an older laptop that doesn't recognize Wireless N signals broadcast at 5 ghz, so I connect that one to "whell" (sort of by default, I guess) and the newer laptop I connect only to "whell5ghz".

If you try these tweaks, please report back and let us know how you fared.

One other thing Aodioengine can be used for WiFi & DAC, or just WiFi, I asume you are using it for WiFi & DAC. If you have another DAC that you can just use the AE wifi to send the signal to I would try that.

Hi group,
Thanks for your ideas on this....

Nope....I've not added any 2.4gHz wireless anything to the mix; I don't know about nearby.

In terms of disconnecting the Furman, I could try that, although that's never been part of the problem before. This issue has just popped up in the past few weeks; the Audioengine has been plugged into the Furman, happily, for a year. But...I can try that. Perhaps just plug the AE into a wall socket....?

The router: the Audioengine is its own unit; I have unplugged it, and powered both the sender and receiver units back up; I do have another router in the mix: this is the one supplied by the cable company which is independent of the AE; I have occasionally noticed some interference from that when I'm on my iPad but it's never caused the distortion issue.

I'll keep troubleshooting; in the meantime, I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving,
Jeff

arcamguy1 said:

Hi group,
Thanks for your ideas on this....

Nope....I've not added any 2.4gHz wireless anything to the mix; I don't know about nearby.

In terms of disconnecting the Furman, I could try that, although that's never been part of the problem before. This issue has just popped up in the past few weeks; the Audioengine has been plugged into the Furman, happily, for a year. But...I can try that. Perhaps just plug the AE into a wall socket....?

The router: the Audioengine is its own unit; I have unplugged it, and powered both the sender and receiver units back up; I do have another router in the mix: this is the one supplied by the cable company which is independent of the AE; I have occasionally noticed some interference from that when I'm on my iPad but it's never caused the distortion issue.

I'll keep troubleshooting; in the meantime, I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving,
Jeff

Click to expand...

The point to trouble shooting is a prosses of elimination and it really does not matter if something worked before or has always worked. Point being things fail as I linked you to a failer and I have read many problems with conditioners.

I have also read about many many problems from WiFi's in the house messing with signals including the phono input. It's like we have a radio station in our homes these days. Also the location of wifi devices is very important.

So if it was me I would disconect your internet wifi, the conditioner and just have the AE stream some music from your computers download files.

You can also test it with you CDP or TV.

Have a nice Thanksgiving