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USB DAC Technical Support

* * * * Latest News * * * *

Due to the overwhelming response to the NY Times article, we have not been able to keep up with demand. Please allow us extra time to ship your order. Model 1200 is currently out of stock, but everyone who was able to place an order will recieve one. We are still taking orders for the Model 1300, but orders placed after Oct 30 may take 4 to 6 weeks to be shipped. The Model 1400HD is currently available with about a 1 week wait. Credit cards are not charged until we are ready to ship. We thank you for your patience.

We are always updating this page with new information. If you don't see the answer you are looking for, contact us by e-mail or phone:

ANTI-SPAM e-mail LINK BELOW: In order to reduce improper use of our e-mail system, 2 dummy characters have been added to the address that will appear in the TO line of your e-mail when you click on the link below. Just delete the 2 consecutive ** characters before sending

email us at support@stereo-link.com or call us Monday-Friday 11:00-6:00(EST) at (401) 490-5682.

  1. WINDOWS: No sound from stereo-link
    2. MAC OS X: Not recognizedMAC OS X: Sound is suddenly noisy, hissy, or seems to have stopped working
  2. LINUX: Recognized but no sound
  3. ALL: Settings for achieving the highest quality playback
  4. ALL: How to keep the computer's system sound effects (warning beeps, etc) from playing out of the stereo-link.
  5. WINDOWS: Using the stereo-link together with another sound output device
  1. Windows (98/2000/XP) No sound out of the stereo-link
    For the stereo-link to work properly, two things must occur. First, Windows must recognize the stereo-link and install Window's own USB audio drivers. Secondly, the stereo-link must be selected as your Playback device.

    Normally Windows will automatically recognize the stereo-link when it is first connected (Detecting New Hardware), and automatically install 3 USB drivers. If this does not seem to be happening, check out the following items first:

    Make certain the stereo-link is properly connected and powered on. The power LED next to the power switch should be on and stay on
    Check the USB connections. If you are using a hub, try connecting it directly to one of the built-in USB ports. If possible, use a known good USB cable (one you have been using with other equipment).

    If you still are having difficulties, we recommend following this procedure . Connect the stereo-link to a known good USB port directly on the PC, using a known good USB cable that you temporarily remove another device you have connected. Turn the power to the stereo-link on first, then turn on the PC or power it Off and back on. Once the Windows boot up process is complete, the stereo-link should be detected.

    In Windows XP, you can see if the stereo-link is active by double clicking on the loudspeaker icon in the system tray. The name of the stereo-link should appear in the bar at the bottom of the mixer panel.

    In most versions of Windows, you can verify that the stereo-link is both your active and preferred Go to the control panel (In XP, Start/Settings) and click on "Sounds and Audio Devices". Select the Audio tab. Make certain the stereo-link is selected as the Sound Playback Default Device. If you want the stereo-link to always play when it is active, check the "Use only default devices" box at the bottom.

    If the sound is low or you don't hear any sound, check the volume settings. Open the mixer by double clicking on the loudspeaker icon in the system tray. Make certain the sliders are set all the way up, and none of the Mute boxes are checked.

    When the stereo-link is receiving audio from the USB, the LED next to the headphone jack will light. It is normal for it to go off when the music stops.

    In rare instances, you may have a conflict with a USB audio device that you previously installed. If that is the case, you should uninstall the drivers for that product.
    More Coming Soon
  2. The stereo-link is not recognized in OS X
    Normally the stereo-link will be automatically recognized under OS X when it is first connected. If this does not seem to be happening, check out the following items first:

    Make certain the stereo-link is properly connected and powered on. The power LED next to the power switch should be on and stay on
    Check the USB connections. If you are using a hub, try connecting it directly to one of the built-in USB ports. If possible, use a known good USB cable (one you have been using with other equipment).

    If you still are having difficulties, we recommend following this procedure . Connect the stereo-link to a known good USB port directly on the Mac, using a known good USB cable that you temporarily remove another device you have connected. Turn the power to the stereo-link on first, then turn on the Mac or power it Off and back on. Once the Mac completes the boot up process, verify that the stereo-link has been detected by looking as follows:
    Under System Preferences->Sound

    select the Output tab. You should see 2 devices;
    Internal Speakers / Built-in Audio
    stereo-link 1200 USB DAC / USB

    Make certain the stereo-link is highlighted, otherwise sound will continue to come out of the built-in speakers. When the stereo-link is receiving audio from the USB, the LED next to the headphone jack will light. It is normal for it to go off when the music stops.
  3. In OS X, sound is suddenly noisy, hissy, or seems to have stopped working
    In Mac OS X 10.3 or later, it is possible for some applications (like internet movies and music) to change the computer's audio settings. For example, an application could change the output sound properties to 2 channel 8 bits, causing any sound played through the stereo-link to be noisy and degraded. In other cases, the sampling rate may be changed, and certain types of sound would no longer play. See Apple support article 300832

    To correct the problem, Open Audio MIDI Setup (/Applications/Utilities/), then check the Audio Output setting.
    Change the Audio Output setting back to 44100.0 Hz and 20 bits.
    Quit Audio MIDI Setup.
    If you use the same application again after applying the above solution, the issue might occur again, and you will have to repeat the process.
  4. The stereo-link is recognized in Linux, but sound continues to come out of the soundcard/computer speakers
    Go to the "soundcard detection" system setting, and make certain the stereo-link or USB audio is selected.
  5. Settings for achieving the highest quality playback
    To ensure the best performance from your stereo-link DAC, it is necessary that the DAC receives the full resolution of the music file you are playing. In general, you do this by properly setting the computer's Volume settings and controlling the playback volume with the amplifier's volume control.

    In Windows, you should have the Master (Speaker) volume control slider and WAVE slider all the way up. If you play CDs, then that slider should also be set to max. The volume controls in Windows can be misleading. The Master or Speaker volume has the most range. When set half way, that corresponds to -25 dB. The same setting on the WAVE slider corresponds to only -5 dB. When both are set at half, the level is about -30 dB. Check these settings periodically, and whenever the levels seem to have changed, as other Windows application may adjust these settings without you being aware of it.

    On Macs running OS X, the proper volume can be set by going to System Preferences->Sound and select the Output tab. Set the volume control to maximum (all the way to the right).
  6. How to keep the computer's system sound effects (warning beeps, etc) from playing out of the stereo-link.
    The only way we know of to keep the Windows sounds from playing over the stereo-link is to use what are known as "ASIO" audio drivers. These drivers bypass the standard Windows audio path, and essentially create a direct path between your player application and the stereo-link. The nice thing is that one of them, asio2all, is free. The catch is that your player must be able to use an ASIO driver using a plug-in. Several popular players have plug-ins, and we have used it successfully with Winamp and foobar200 players. See our FAQ question for more info. If you are using iTunes on a Windows, there is a way to get iTunes to use "foobar" as the underlying player but maintain the iTunes interface. See this head-fi forum posting to get started.

    On a Mac with OS X, go to the Applications -> Utilities folder,
    open the Audio MIDI Setup utility. Set the Default Output to the stereo-link 1200 USB DAC. You can leave the System Output set as it is so that alert sounds will still come out of the Mac's internal audio.
  7. WINDOWS: Using the stereo-link together with another sound output device
    We will describe two ways of doing this. Windows XP can handle multiple sound devices (including multiple stereo-links). It is up to the application to select the output device it uses. Many players will only use the active "default device", while others, such as foobar2000, can be configured to send sound to two devices simultaneously. In the case of foobar2000, this feature requires using a special ASIO driver. 2 audio devicesClick here for details and screen shot

    A free version, called ASIO4All is available. (See our FAQ question for details).

    If you need to work with a specific player, then we suggest you look into using a program called Virtual Audio Cable: Virtual Audio Cable. To quote from the manual" "Simply route your sound to Virtual Cable N and use two Audio Repeater instances to route from the same Virtual Cable N to each of your adapters."



    8. Last updated Nov 2, 2007