Connecting bb1 to amp

[Braindoc1]

I just purchased the bb1 with the hope of playing it through my amp and speakers. I connected the bb1 to a FiiO DAC via the USB port and then the DAC "line out" to the audio inputs in my amp. I can get it to work by pressing "turn headphone output on" but it only works for a second then "switches" back to no sound.  What am I doing wrong?

[PMB]

Hi Braindoc1,

Did you run 'Load DAC Driver' (or similar) from the Maintenance menu?

With the DAC plugged in do you see the headphones symbol on the BB1's display?

Have you tired a Web Upgrade - Maintenance menu?

Which model FiiO do you have?

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Braindoc1]

Thanks, Paul.

There is no 'Load DAC Driver' in the Maintenance Menu. There is a 'run DAC diagnostics' in the Advanced menu. When I ran that it said, 'Done - Check Debug' but I don't see a debug option.

Yes, I see a headphone signal on the display.

Yes, I performed a web upgrade.

I have FiiO model E10K

[PMB]

Hi Braindoc1,

I get similar on my BB1and have reported it as a bug.

Please check out Latest Software page - link - for any updates.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[William Morgan]

My BB1 arrived 5 days ago. I've had a [now deceased] JB7 previously. I'm having issues with the SABRENT usb adaptor recommended by Brennan, which will not routinely transfer output to my FOSI AUDIO BT10A-UK Amp.

I've done all the upgrades, the headphone icon appears on the panel, sometimes the "Turn Headphone Output On/Off"  menu item appears and then often it does not. There doesn't appear to be any connection between whether the Amp is switched on or off. After some switching on & off of both devices I eventually get the stereo speakers working. I assume this is a bug. Any advice? 

[PMB]

Hi wdm200...,

We are investigating an issue with USB audio (Headphones Out) on the BB1 and will issue an update if necessary.

Please check our Latest Software page - link - for any updates.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[William Morgan]

Now sorted. It's a matter of switching in the right order.

1] Switch on amp  2] Switch on BB1  3] Press desired program pre-set  4] Depress the volume knob, scrolling down now reveals "Turn Headphone Output On"  5] Selecting this turns the headphone symbol red and activates the amp speakers.

So, there's nothing wrong with the the SABRENT USB Audio Adapter.

[PMB]

Hi WDM200...,

Is the volume very low when playing the BB1 through your external amplifier?

Paul

Brennan Support.

[William Morgan]

No Paul, it's fine now. My problem was unfamiliarity with a new device. Using the sequence listed in my 20th Feb posting, everything works well. I'm mainly using Internet radio at present. I have loaded 6 CDs and am planning an SD card upgrade to 200GB, which should enable me to maintain WAV recordings only.

[PMB]

Hi wdm200...,

The BB1 does have the option to compress to FLAC, which is lossless so maintains the same audio quality as WAV and will save you around 40% memory space.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Braindoc1]

I just dowloaded the most recent software update and the same situation occurs.  Front panel says "switching" and the output plays for a brief second then stops.  The headphone symbol does NOT turn red.  Please advise

[Peter Lowham]

Hi All,

I have just activated a DAC on my most recent BB1 and it has worked correctly.  I already have had the DAC running on my first BB1 for about 15 months with no problems.

1.  With BB1 powered down, I plugged DAC into the BB1 USB port.

2.  Powered the BB1 up and went to 'Settings & Tools' --> 'Maintenance' --'Install USB DAC drivers'  (this only exists as a one-off first time run menu option).

3.  Got message 'Downloading' then 'Success', then 'Now Reboot'  on screen.

4.  Powered the BB1 down and up.

5.  A new headphones symbol (coloured white) appeared on bottom left on the screen along with a new option in 'Main Menu' called 'Turn Headphone Output On'.

6.  I selected 'Turn Headphone Output On' and the message 'Switching' appeared, and the option changed to 'Turn Headphone Output Off'.

7.  I selected the 'Back' button.  The headphone symbol is now a red colour and the headphones are working well.

I went back to 'Settings & Tools' --> 'Maintenance' and found that the 'Install USB DAC drivers' option is no longer there (presumably it is no longer required).

The DAC unit is a Cubilux USB C to Female 3.5mm Audio Adapter with Hi-Res DAC and cost about £12.

The BB1 is running on 'BB1 Mar 1 2021' software, but has worked well on all versions since December 2019.

Regards,

Peter.

[Braindoc1]

Thanks.  I do not get an "install USB DAC drivers" option.  I can turn 'Turn Headphone Output On" and get the switching message. The headphone symbol appears on the bottom left but never turns to red.  What is most puzzling is that it works for about 1 second during which I hearing the playback clearly through my amp and speakers but then it simply stops. 

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Braindoc1,

The FiiO DAC unit seems to be recognised by the BB1, otherwise you would not see the 'Turn Headphone Output On' option.

This is conjecture on my part but It looks to me like the BB1 is either :

1.  the DAC drivers are not downloading correctly to the BB1 or

2.  the DAC drivers have an incompatibility of some sort with the version of GNU/Linux (4.9.52) that the BB1 runs on.

From what I can see, the 'headphones' symbol when coloured white means that the DAC is detected but the DAC sound output is switched off.

The 'headphones' symbol when coloured red means that the DAC is detected and the DAC sound output is switched on.

Regards,

Peter.

[PMB]

Hi Braindoc1,

With my set up -

If I have the BB1 playing and select 'Turn Headphones output on', I hear a burst of sound at a high volume and then the volume drops to a lower level - the headphones symbol changes to red. I can adjust this using the volume control on the BB1.

If the BB1 isn't playing and I select 'Turn Headphones output on' and select something to play, it plays at the set volume.

This may be an issue of incompatibility as Peter suggests - what model FiiO do you have?

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Braindoc1]

Thanks, Paul. I have the FiiO Olympus2 E!0K. If I have the amp on and music playing on the BB1 then turn headphones on I hear the music through my system speakers for approximately 1 second then stops.  The "turn headphones ON" then appears active again, as if the BB1 failed to maintain headphones on. If I have music playing on the BB1 with the amp off and then turn the amp on and turn headphones on nothing is heard from the system and the Turn Headphone On becomes active again.  In both cases the "switching" alert is seen on the display and at no point does the headphone symbol turn red.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Braindoc,

From what you are describing, it sounds like the FiiO driver has downloaded and installed, hence the 'Turn Headphone Output On' is appearing in the BB1 menu.  Also, given the one second play through the DAC to your amp, that would suggest to me that the FiiO driver is running briefly and then is crashing.

On the FiiO website there is a 'FiiO Unversal DAC driver v4.47.0' download but it seems to be for Windows only.  I couldn't find any reference to Linux versions.

Unfortunately it would take some deeper level digging at Linux/ driver level to see what is really going on.

Regards,

Peter.

[PMB]

Hi Braindoc,

Please check that the BB1 software did actually update to 1st March 2021 when you ran Web Upgrade - go the the Settings & Tools menu and select Stats.

Paul

Brennan Support.