Schiit Eitr Preview Thread

I was very surprised about the 0mA from the start.

The way they do isolation is a small USB-powered section of the board, that has no electrical connections to the dac at all, it talks via optical bridge.

So yeah, someone screwed up the spec on the site.

 

Yep, it simplifies power design letting the receiver power itself from the bus.

 

Not just the site, as I checked with [email protected] about current draw and was assured it was "fully self powered." Kinda disappointed as this was a significant factor in my buying decision.

 

I believe Eitr is just transformers, nothing optical about it.

 

Contact [email protected] for a full refund.

We screwed up the specs. It draws power. If that doesn’t work for you, then get a refund and move on.

 

Right, it's a LAN Ethernet transformer I believe. Based on the pics of the board it looks like this one specifically: https://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/wurth-electronics-inc/7490100110A/732-5710-1-ND/4969380

 

Transformer seems to be for the I2S between the USB controller and the SPDIF controller

 

Jack, I wonder if a powered USB hub would help out?

 

From winders:

If you don't care for that solution you could use an iFi nano iUSB3.0 for $199. Actually would like to see a comparison between the two.

 

Yes it does, thanks @Andre Y. I was hoping to avoid the extra clutter as WAF is already borderline. With a powered hub, the iPad works and draws 0mA, as does the Note 3.

The Cthulhu you advanced me is a lot tidier than a half dozen wall warts, and my wife is very appreciative

 

Does Eitr needs special driver for Windows 10, 64 bit Laptop?

I sold mine to another fellow who is having a problem. I use Mac and it was recognized instantly when powered on when I had it.

He uses Laptop --> Schiit Yggdrasil (With Schiit Eitr into Yggdrasil via coaxial) --> Schiit Ragnarok.
However, he cant seem to get the power light on the Schiit Eitr to ever turn on. It only temporarily turns on when he powers the Eitr itself on.

He contacted Schiit Support and got below response.

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Tom E (Schiit Audio)

Mar 11, 11:14

Does the Eitr seem to be powered on (just the LED out) or does the Eitr not work with the LED out? Have you tried another outlet and another wall-wart? Either way we can take a look at your Eitr for you. Please fill out the form at www.schiit.com/contact/service to receive an RA.
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Hello! Thanks for your response so far.
I dont believe that the eitr is working on my setup right now. My laptop currently only recognises a driver for schiit gen 3 usb which i believe is the yggdrasil's. Is there anyway to diagnose whether the problem is with the eitr or my setup.
Thanks!
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Tom E (Schiit Audio)

Mar 12, 06:24

It sounds like it is the Eitr if the Yggdrasil is being recognized on your Laptop. We can take a look at it for you.
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Is it more likely Eitr issue or it is missing some USB driver? I never used Windows PC so no idea what the issue might be.

 

My Eitr was recognized immediately on windows, but there may have been a plug and play driver that windows automatically downloads at work there and I believe its reccommended not to install over that driver unless you're having issues.

EDIT: maybe try these? http://www.schiit.com/drivers

 

I occationally read/hear that people have issues with usb drivers on Windows machines. Like USB 5 driver didn't work untill they removed USB 2 (or better both I think), then clean installed USB 5 driver again.

I suggest him to try it in the following order:
1. Remove both USB devices from PC
2. Uninstall both drivers
3. Restart PC (usually not critical for Win 10, but just in case)
4. Plug Eitr in for automatic or manual driver installation

However in my case USB 2 from Jotunheim and USB 5 from Bifrost worked fine on Lenovo E430 with Win 10

 

I get dropouts with the Eitr with iTunes. Is there a fix for this? Should I contact Schiit or is this just the nature of the device?

 

I've had to play with settings in the output section of foobar to get it to not cutout with the Modi Multibit.

But i honestly wouldn't rule out itunes just being ass(at least on windows) maybe try a different player to see if that's the issue?

 

The thing is is that it is only when the Eitr is in the chain that I get dropouts. I have a Modi Multibit, Modi2U, and a Wyrd. No dropouts except with the Eitr in the loop. Output is from either a MBP or iMac.

 

Also just trying to make certain you've read the posts concerning power anomalies and how these may cause dropouts when playing through Eitr. People were describing issues like fans, heaters, etc. that draw power, and hearing dropouts as these external devices switched on and off.

 

Yep...that's a fine example of a theory

 

As for length of the S/PDIF coax cable and Eitr, what is your experience?
I see now that coax Pysst is made just 6'', that's quite short.

I mention this because of the S/PDIF signal rise time importance of digital transmitter devices. In past, longer coax digital cables (>1.5 m) were recommended because of longer rise time which was typical for digital devices, and which honoured more cable length to allow enough time for rise time cycle to finish. If cable was too short then signal reflections can sum with the signal, thus introducing timing error (jitter) in transmission.

However the fact that Pyst is short tells me that Eitr is designed with short rise time...which is great. It enables all cable lengths, and the best possible quality will be reached by using a really short coax. Because less cable length = less noise collected or generated.

This is exactly my listening experience with various coax length and Eitr. I currently use 20 cm (8'') long coax which was the shortest I tried, and it provided yet better sound than coax of double lenght (40 cm or 16''). And significantly better than 1m coax (though of different brand). The bottom line: in my experience, it pays off to try shorter coax cables with Eitr. Sound becomes somehow yet more direct/focused/immediate.

Also, no one so far compared Eitr with any RPi+DigiOne combo?

 

BTW, the 6 inch PYSST cable is not a coaxial cable but two RCA cables. (If i am misunderstanding you, I apologize but I just double checked the Schiit site to make sure they had not introduced a separate coaxial cable.) I asked Schiit about using it when I bought the Eitr last summer; Nick informed me that it is not a 75 ohm cable and they do not recommend using it with the Eitr. (FWIW, I am no cable or electronics maven. I'm using a 1 foot coaxial from Blue Jeans Cable between the Eitr and Modi Multibit.)