usb dac crackle sound

[Gabe3]

is it normal for a usb dac to crackle? I have a fiio k1 and since I've had it I hear a crackle sound if I'm listening to music while changing the volume level. which isn't a big deal. I also hear the sound when hovering over buttons sometimes on the bf5 menu. bf5 plays a little sound when you hover over a button. since I started playing classic wow I hear the crackle sound pretty often. sometimes it never stops and I have to restart the game. I've tried 2 different usb ports.

edit: meant to post this in the audio section. but since its game related for the most part maybe someone knows of a solution.

emailed fiio a week ago and never heard back.

 

[Epos7]

The k1 is both a DAC and an amplifier. If you're hearing crackling while changing the volume, it's coming from the volume pot. It's fine. My O2 does the same thing.

You shouldn't hear the other noises you are describing. Sounds like interference. It's common with onboard sound since the audio components are in such close proximity to a lot of electronics. Since you're hearing it over an external DAC, try moving the DAC to a different position.

 

[N4CR]

Ground maybe? Try isolating ground on your stereo or using a cheater plug to just send it ac and no ground. At your own risk, my noise floor dramatically improved with this. No more hum and noise from tv or pc induced in the hifi.

 

[Gabe3]

it only makes the sound while in games though. especially on loading screens. I started having interference with my onboard audio from the cpu, which is why I bought the K1. I could hear that sitting on the desktop, and could make it louder if I changed the power option for the cpu to high performance. that made a completely different type of sound than what I'm experiencing now.

heres the email I got from fiio:

"The game voice quality is poor, which is probably due to to the game app and mobile phone system and the compatibility issue.The issue is normal and we have feedback it to our technical team to implement it in the future. Not directly related to the k1."

the email had chinese letters in it rofl. this company is a joke. I said the K1 was connected to my PC, the K1 isn't suppose to be used on a mobile phone anyway.