M-Audio Question

[BallinWithNash]

Ok, so i just got my M-Audio transit usb ... and it makes a popping sound if i run the 24 bit output ... but if i run 16 bit it works .. how do i fix this? .. my PC is Dell Inspiron 1501 .. has a gig of ram so i should have plenty of ram.

[noddin0ff]

24 bit output to where? digital output? by what connections? you only get pops? Not all USB inputs accept 24bit.

[BallinWithNash]

output to my receiver ... so it goes out of my pc into my soundcard then out of my soundcard into my receiver. and its a 1/8th output (headphones) ... so the cord is a headphone to RCA

[noddin0ff]

OK. That is a puzzler. At 24 do you only hear pops or music with pops?

You switch between 16 and 24 using some software interface on your PC then?

And by soundcard you mean this
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Transit.html
and not a built in soundcard on your computer?

Does this also happen when you play WAV files that are already 24 bit? Or just when up converting from some other format?

I don't think I'll have any answers for you, just trying to isolate the problem.

[BallinWithNash]

Yes that is the soundcard ... and the software is just the drivers it came with .. and it is music with pops ... and it only happens if i play the music i ripped into itunes ... i burned STP on my pc using Exact Audio Copy and i did it as a wav there was no pops .. but right when i started playing music from iTunes pops ... so idk haha .. and thanks for the help so far though

[BallinWithNash]

and the software/drivers let me switch between these...
2in 2out 16bit, 8,000Hz to 48,000Hz (if i use this one no pops)
2in 2out 24bit, 8,000Hz to 48,000Hz (if i use this one no pops)
2in 0out 24bit, 88,200Hz to 96,000Hz (can't use this one no outputs are on)
0in 2out 24bit, 88,200Hz to 96,000Hz (i would prefer to use this one but there is pops)
DD/DTS Pass-Thru (16bit, 48,000Hz) (dont use this one)

And it lets me choose my latency between very low, low, medium, high, and very high ... i have it on high that way it is easier on my processor ... i have tried changing the latency when using the 24 bit 2out but there is still pops

[noddin0ff]

I'm guessing it's the ripping then. Especially if the pops are always in the same place. I don't find iTunes to be the best ripper. Ripping error = pop.

Maybe some errors are smoothed out in digital to analog conversion at 16bit but not in the upsampling to 24bit?

I always use a 3rd party ripper and then import the file to iTunes. Conversion of file types doesn't create pops that I can find. Just error in the original rip.

[Feanor]

and the software/drivers let me switch between these...
2in 2out 16bit, 8,000Hz to 48,000Hz (if i use this one no pops)
2in 2out 24bit, 8,000Hz to 48,000Hz (if i use this one no pops)
2in 0out 24bit, 88,200Hz to 96,000Hz (can't use this one no outputs are on)
0in 2out 24bit, 88,200Hz to 96,000Hz (i would prefer to use this one but there is pops)
DD/DTS Pass-Thru (16bit, 48,000Hz) (dont use this one)

And it lets me choose my latency between very low, low, medium, high, and very high ... i have it on high that way it is easier on my processor ... i have tried changing the latency when using the 24 bit 2out but there is still pops

In the first place, you are talking about music ripped from CD, is that right? Of course all CDs are natively 16 bit x 44.1 kHz.

So secondly where is the above upsampling happening in your case? Are are you upsampling when you rip using your ripping software, (EAC)? Are are you talking upsampling using your M-Audio sound card?

A third upsampling option would to use player that upsamples. And yet a fourth option is suitably equiped DAC or AV receiver's DSP.

Do you thing upsampling makes for better sound? Some people insist that "asynchronous" upsampling is always a bad thing. (Asynchronous upsampling is, say, going from 44.1 to 48 or 96 kbps where the output is not a discrete multiple of the input.) However if you DAC or receiver's DSP do upsampling it has the benefit of re-clocking the input and thus -- potentially -- reducing jitter.

[BallinWithNash]

ok, sorry i took so long to respond i was out of town, ok and you really think it is the ripping? ... i guess it makes sense because the STP cd that i ripped with EAC doesnt pop but everyone of my itunes songs (even the bought ones) pop.