Older Audial Model S USB windows 10 driver
Hello guys,
was wondering if any of you have or know how to make older Audial Model S USB work on windows 10. I think I probably have mk1 version, at least manual says 2011 December. Seems windows 10 does detect it and install some default driver, but I notice a lot of random noise clicks happening when output any audio, I tried wasapi, youtube, other methods - its is all the same. I can not install driver from cd as it does not work, even when I enable test signing(installation of unsigned driver) and disable integrity checks. Clicks and pops seem to react to windows volume control - if you make it louder, clicks are louder. I'm pretty sure it is driver issue as I now tried old windows 7 laptop with audial usb driver from cd and everything works just fine...
Wonder if it is possible to somehow install or get updated driver? I'm not quite sure what XMOS chipset is there, probably relatively old one. Only other option I can think of is getting another USB interface and doing some drilling on case and soldering? Surely would prefer driver workaround to this, if possible.
Forgot to restart computer to take those settings(disable driver signature) into effect, driver installed fine. So its not the driver(unless windows 10 specific), but seems to be cable issue(probably) or something else.
Hello Martynas,
With your account, you should be now able to see the drivers in the Model S USB downloads area, and there you will find two signed drivers, which should work with early Model S USB.
For now, I am not sure if this is the software issue, but I would try ASIO, and see if it changes anything.
Regards
Thanks for info Pedja,
seems it is cable issue, it is "custom made" from cat 7 sftp ethernet(due to certain reasons, even if not best choice), I'll probably try getting new connectors and resoldering, maybe try some different shielding/ground options. This is first time I noticed "literally noisy" cable issue - I get "clicks&pops" effect which almost felt like driver issue. Also strange that old dac had no problems with it. When re-soldering current connectors and checking any shorts(which I did not find using multimeter) I was able to get it even more noisy - almost 90% white noise but you could hear music in it. Then got back to "usual clicks&cuts". Quick question - I can't seem to find/access downloads area, wonder if this could be browser issue.
It is in the far right tab of the box in the second half of the page. Should work in all browsers, and for me it definitely works both in Chrome and Edge.
Anyhow, here are the direct links (but you still have to be logged in). BTW, I still prefer version 1.26, and I am using it most of the time, with Windows 10 and later DACs too.
Great stuff, thanks again for good support. Did re-solder both cable connectors and was able to double the strand thickness(as ETH cable has 4 double twisted pairs), now everything works great and can enjoy model s at last. To my surprise it still showed end-to-end around 1.2 OHM per double strand(single usb connection point) when measuring(for 7m length) and I did try to pick one of the best in terms of metal composition(most copper, awg, etc...), while 10 times cheaper much thinner standard 5m usb cable showed around 0.4 OHM. Anyway...
Can't wait to start building aya4. Cheers
I have a Model S USB unit. What is the best sounding USB Audio driver that I should be using for this DAC? I have version 1.29 now ("debug build"). The computer is running Windows 11. I am also happy to run this from a Linux partition if you think that would be sonically superior. Thank you.
For me, the driver version 1.26 is sonically still the best. Apologies for still not being able to confirm if it works flawlessly with Windows 11, but for a start, it should install fine. If your Model S USB runs earlier firmware (version 1.7x), the drivers 1.26 and 1.29 would be the only ones you can use. Please let me know if you need access to these downloads.
As for the Linux-based systems, yes, I believe they can provide superior sonic performance, and the best PC source I heard was Linux based. For computer geeks, Linux is probably easier to tweak, but you can also use some ready-made solutions.
Also, the PC topic I opened on this forum was quiet for some time, but I hope to revive it soon.
Hi Pedja,
Thank you for your reply. I do apologize about the delay in responding. I would very much like to have access to the driver version 1.26. Even with driver 1.29, this is by far the best sounding DAC that I have heard in my system. (By the way, I was surprised by how much difference the power cable seems to make with this DAC. Do you have any suggestions for the best type of power cable to use for this model?)
Thank you again for such musical and timeless products!
Steve
You are welcome, Steve, and thank you, too.
Your account is now set so you should be able to access all the downloads on the Model S USB page.
As for the power cable, I am sorry, but I have no actual recommendation. We have occasionally been making and supplying our power cords, but since we could not provide them regularly, this idea is mostly abandoned.
Anyhow, I would recommend some solid core cable, here just like everywhere else in the system. Of course, since solid core cables are not as convenient in use as stranded ones, having a power cable done in a safe way is essential.